Kash Patel Is a Warning Shot

Two F.B.I. agents are at the door. Their faces are grim.

You invite them in, and because you work for the Pennsylvania secretary of state, you realize why they’re there. The agents explain that they “just have a few questions” about the 2020 election.

Puzzled, you agree to talk. The agents pull binders out of their bags and begin grilling you. They want to know, with precision, where you were and what you did, beginning the moment the polls closed on Nov. 3, 2020.

The conversation is difficult. They press you on the details, but your memory of those weeks isn’t as good as it once was. They catch you in a contradiction and your heart starts to beat faster.

Wait, you think. Will they think I just lied? Isn’t it a crime to lie to the F.B.I.?

The agents start to press you even harder. Every part of you is aware of the danger. You realize you need a lawyer, but you’re a normal, middle-class American. You don’t have a legal team at the ready.

But you haven’t done anything wrong. All you did was help monitor and oversee the vote count. So you try to reset the conversation. You take a deep breath and slowly describe the process, as best you remember it.

After they leave, you walk through the conversation again. You realize they were trying to pin down that, yes, you had a role in counting votes. They were very intent on establishing that you did help finalize the Pennsylvania vote tallies.