Shortly after Donald Trump orchestrated former FBI Director James Comey’s criminal indictment, the bureau’s incumbent chief, Kash Patel, appeared eager to revel in the case against one of his predecessors. He also offered a terrific example of gaslighting.

In a truly ridiculous statement published to social media, Patel suggested that Comey was part of the bureau’s “previous corrupt leadership,” despite the fact that it’s Patel who’s corrupting the bureau. He wrote that Comey “weaponized federal law enforcement,” even as Team Trump weaponizes federal law enforcement. He wrote that Comey “damaged” the institution, as Patel damages the institution. He insisted that Trump’s Russia scandal was a “hoax” and a “disgraceful chapter in history,” despite the fact that the scandal was and is quite real.

But as head-spinning as the FBI director’s brazen dishonesty was, his perspective was of particular interest on Thursday night because his enemies list is suddenly relevant anew.

As regular readers know, Patel was a preposterous choice to lead the FBI for a great many reasons — he was an unqualified and inexperienced political operative, best known for peddling conspiracy theories on far-right podcasts — but among the more obvious was his published list of members of the purported “deep state” that he said deserved to face federal investigations, if not criminal charges. As The New York Times summarized in January:

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In his book ‘Government Gangsters,’ Mr. Patel made clear his hostility toward the so-called deep state, publishing a list of 60 names in an appendix. It has been widely interpreted as an enemies list and singles out former executive branch officials but is by no means ‘comprehensive,’ according to Mr. Patel.

During his confirmation hearing, the conspiratorial podcast personality assured senators that the bureau, under his leadership, “will not go backwards. There will be no politicization at the FBI. There will be no retributive actions taken by any FBI should I be confirmed as FBI director.”

And while that proved persuasive to Senate Republicans, eight months later, quite a few people on Patel’s enemies list are either facing investigations or federal charges. In alphabetical order:

• Former President Joe Biden is, at Trump’s insistence, facing a federal investigation.
• Former White House National Security Adviser John Bolton recently had his home and office raided by the FBI.
• Former CIA Director John Brennan is facing a criminal investigation. (Brennan is a paid contributor to MSNBC, my employer.)
• Former FBI Director James Comey is now facing a two-count federal criminal indictment.
• Former Department of Homeland Security official Miles Taylor is, at Trump’s insistence, facing a federal investigation.
• Democratic Rep. Alexander Vindman of Virginia is facing a federal investigation.

And while there are plenty of people on Patel’s enemies list who aren’t currently facing law enforcement scrutiny, the FBI director is only eight months into a 10-year term, so he still has plenty of time.