FBI Director Kash Patel delivered defiant testimony on Capitol Hill Tuesday and got into heated exchanges with several Democrats as he has faced criticism from multiple angles for his handling of the investigation of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Patel spoke before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his first time since his confirmation hearing, where he faced aggressive confrontation about not only the investigation into Kirk, but also questions about the Jeffrey Epstein investigation and Patel’s massive changes to the bureau.
“I'm not going anywhere. If you want to criticize my 16 years of service, please bring it on,” he goaded in an opening statement.
But Patel continues to face criticism for his handling of the investigation. Particularly, Patel came under fire for using the X social media platform to say that the FBI had apprehended the “subject” of the Kirk shooting before ultimately having to walk that back.
“Mr. Patel was so anxious to take credit for finding Mr. Kirk’s assassin, that he violated one of the basics of effective law enforcement: at critical stages of an investigation shut up and let the investigators do their job,” Democratic ranking member Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said in his opening statement.
On Friday, authorities apprehended 22-year-old Tyler Robinson for Kirk’s shooting at Utah Valley University in the town of Orem. This came after a more-than-24 hour manhunt. Patel had by then traveled to Utah to assist with the investigation and made the announcement alongside Utah Gov. Spencer Cox.
But he drew fire for reportedly dining the evening of the shooting at Manhattan’s exclusive Rao’s restaurant rather than jet off to the scene. And in the days that followed, even some in conservative media have questioned whether Patel is the right person for the job.
As Patel was testifying, President Donald Trump was asked by reporters whether he had confidence in Patel. In response, Trump started by praising Bondi.
“Well first of all I think Pam Bondi has done an unbelievable job,” he said. “And Kash, take a look at what he did with this horrible person that he just captured.”
But Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J), who has repeatedly used the Judiciary Committee as a bully pulpit against the Trump administration, said he thought Patel might leave his post soon.
“Here's the thing, Mr. Patel, I think you're not gonna be around long, I think this might be your last oversight hearing,” he said. “Because as much as you supplicate yourself to the will of Donald Trump and not the Constitution, Donald Trump has shown us he is not loyal to people like you.”
Questions about Jeffrey Epstein persist
Patel has not just faced criticism for his handling of the Kirk killing. Many others on both ends of the political spectrum have criticized both Bondi and Patel for the FBI’s release of a two-page memo in July saying that Epstein, the late convicted sex offender and pedophile, did not have a “client list” and that he died by suicide while in custody.
When Durbin asked Patel about why the memorandum was not signed, Patel pushed back.
The memorandum had the insignia of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” he said. “And in our effort to secure transparency for the American people, because the three prior administrations had not done so, we conducted an exhaustive search of everything related to the Epstein cases, and we produced what was legally and permissibly able to be produced to Congress, the American public.”
In addition, Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) asked Patel about if Epstein trafficked young women and girls to other people.
“There is no credible information, none,” he said. “If there were, I would bring the case yesterday.”
Kennedy said that “this issue is not going to go away,” and that he believes the “central question for the American people is this: They know that Epstein trafficked young women for sex to himself. They want to know who if anyone else he trafficked these young women to.”
In the months since the memo, the Epstein investigation has lit off a firestorm. Last week, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer attempted to force a vote on an amendment to release files related to Epstein during votes on the National Defense Authorization Act. The vote failed and only two Republicans joined Democrats on the vote.
Mass firings of FBI agents
Patel also faced aggressive questioning from Democrats for the dismissal of various officials at the FBI for political reasons. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) asked Patel about the fact that 20 people that Patel listed in his book Government Gangsters had faced some kind of adverse action.
“Can you explain that?” Whitehouse asked.
“That is an entirely inaccurate presupposition, I do not have an enemies list,” Patel said.
“Well there was a list. It had about 60 names and about 20 have had an adverse action. So those are I think pretty clear facts,” Whitehouse said.
In addition, Durbin asked Patel about an account of the the firing of two FBI officials published in The New York Times.
“That’s a one-sided story,” Patel said. “Anyone that has been terminated by the FBI generally speaking failed to meet the needs of the FBI and uphold their constitutional duties and you providing your one-sided story from your perch is absolutely disgraceful because of the FBI men and women deserve better.”
Lingering questions about political violence
In the same vein, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) asked Patel not only about the Kirk killing but also about the proliferation of violence, including the shooting of two Minnesota state legislators and the shooting at a church next to Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis.
“Every shooting is different,” she said before raising various proposals. “Raising minimum age to purchase assault weapon, even if we're not going to ban them, I favor banning them, but that's one idea that's out there.”
But Patel would not go into specifics when it came to actual policy.
“I think there are instances on this legislation that could prevent future attacks, but I'm not going to weigh into the creation of legislation,” he said.
But many on the right have said that they want to see actions taken against left-wing groups that they blame for Kirk’s death. Vice President JD Vance criticized the “incredibly destructive movement of left wing extremism” when he guest-hosted the late conservative activist’s podcast.
Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) repeated that sentiment during his questioning, accusing Democrats of ramping up the heated rhetoric. Specifically, he cited a YouGov poll showing that 24 percent of people who say they are liberal or very liberal said it is acceptable to feel joy at the death of political opponents.
“And I would point out we've heard years, years of the left, their loudest voices calling anyone on the right, extremist, extremist MAGA Republicans, fascist, Nazis, an existential threat to democracy,” he said. “Check yourself, and don't give me this both sides bulls***.”
During his questioning, Durbin could be heard criticizing some of Schmitt’s questioning.
The hearing comes at a time when numerous lawmakers have also called for increased security for themselves given the increased levels of violence.
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