Facing growing criticism of his leadership at the FBI under President Donald Trump, Kash Patel has resorted to posting videos touting the bureau’s accomplishments on social media set to music from Guns N’ Roses and the Beastie Boys.
The director of the nation’s top law enforcement agency, who was lampooned by comedian Aziz Ansari on Saturday Night Live over the weekend, posted a video Monday morning using AI-generated clips from the Beastie Boys’ 1970s cop show-inspired “Sabotage” music video interspersed with FBI footage and news clips.
On Saturday, hours before Ansari portrayed a hyperactive and bug-eyed Patel on SNL, the director posted a similar FBI highlight reel set to “You Could Be Mine” by Guns N’ Roses, whose lead singer Axl Rose has repeatedly blasted the president and other administration figures.
“The FBI delivered the safest America under President Trump’s leadership in the history of our country,” Patel says in the self-congratulatory video.
Patel is facing an avalanche of scrutiny over his handling of the FBI and allegations of alcohol abuse on the job, which he has vehemently denied.
With President Trump’s leadership, this @FBI and our interagency partners are conducting massive fraud takedowns coast to coast - and we’re not stopping pic.twitter.com/lLAY4nSsQa
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) May 4, 2026
The 48-year-old FBI director filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic and journalist Sarah Fitzpatrick over what his lawyers have labeled a “sweeping, malicious and defamatory hit piece” about his leadership at the agency.
The recent profile published by the outlet characterized Patel as a deeply paranoid figure prone to drinking to excess. His alleged behavior has reportedly alarmed officials at the law enforcement agency and across the Trump administration, including the president.
Patel has lambasted reporters over The Atlantic’s coverage and questions about his behavior, including at a recent press conference where he lashed out at the “fake news mafia” and accused reporters of lying about him.
Ansari satirized those outbursts on SNL. “You guys should not be reporting the lies and the gossip,” the comedian said. “You should be reporting on the historic nature of my appointment. I’m a trailblazer. I’m the first Indian person to suck at their job.”
More than a dozen House Democrats have launched an investigation into Patel’s alleged drinking and called on the FBI director to share the results of a screening with Congress.
“I’m like an everyday American who loves his country, loves the sport of hockey, and champions my friends when they raise a gold medal and invite me in to celebrate,” Patel told reporters last month when questioned about video footage of him chugging beers with the U.S. Olympic men’s hockey team.
“I've never been intoxicated on the job, and that's why we filed a $250 million lawsuit,” he said. “Any one of you that wants to participate? Bring it on. I’ll see you in court.”
It’s unclear whether the FBI obtained the artists’ permission for use of their music in the videos — though it’s extremely unlikely.
The Beastie Boys have rarely licensed their music for commercial use in the wake of the death of Adam Yauch, aka MCA, in 2012, and Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz has called Trump a “f*****’ racist, sexist, homophobe” and a “scumbag.”
“I can’t wrap my head around it. He is the New York City rich elite. Who got duped by that motherf*****? I don’t get it at all,” he told The Daily Beast in 2017.
Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose also has blasted Trump for using the band’s music.
The Independent has requested comment from the FBI and representatives for the Beastie Boys and Guns N’ Roses.
Patel, a former podcaster, has come under bipartisan fire over the agency’s handling of investigations into Jeffrey Epstein and the release of millions of documents connected to the wealthy and well-connected sex offender, who died in jail awaiting trial on trafficking charges in 2019.
Patel‘s latest efforts to boost his public image follow investigations into the chaos at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on April 25, when a gunman charged through security in an attempt to target administration officials inside the ballroom, according to prosecutors.
The suspect, 31-year-old Cole Allen, reportedly wrote that Patel was not included among those on an alleged hit list.
In the Guns N’ Roses-backed video, Patel is seen firing a weapon at a shooting range, speaking to reporters and wearing sunglasses and camouflage.
“These are the best numbers for fighting crime in U.S. history,” Patel says as the clip comes to a close with the FBI logo. “It’s letting good cops be cops. Letting agents go out there and do the job they were trained to do.”
The “Sabotage”-themed video focuses on the FBI’s latest fraud targets, including the Southern Poverty Law Center, which the Department of Justice has accused of defrauding donors by paying informants inside violent extremist groups. Civil rights groups have slammed the indictment, framed as part of a wider Trump administration campaign to target perceived enemies of the president and his allies.
“The size of the fraud continues to be exposed, and there will be more arrests coming,” Patel says at the end of the video.
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