FBI Head Patel, Dems Clash at Hearing  09/17 06:09

   

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- FBI Director Kash Patel clashed with skeptical Democrats 
at a contentious Senate oversight hearing Tuesday, defending his record amid 
criticism that he has politicized the nation's premier federal law enforcement 
agency and pursued retribution against perceived adversaries of President 
Donald Trump.

   The appearance Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee represented the 
first oversight hearing of Patel's young but tumultuous tenure and provided a 
high-stakes platform for him to try to demonstrate that he is the right person 
for the job at a time of internal upheaval and mounting concerns about 
political violence inside the United States, a threat laid bare by last week's 
killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a college campus in Utah.

   The hearing broke along starkly partisan lines, with Republicans rallying 
support for Patel even as Democrats said he had debased the integrity of the 
nation's premier federal law enforcement agency. Patel, for his part, accused 
Democrats of grandstanding for cameras and looking to score political points in 
a series of testy shouting matches that punctuated more sedate testimony about 
the criminal and national security threats facing the U.S.

   "You are the biggest fraud to ever sit in the United States Senate, you are 
a disgrace to this institution and you are an utter coward," Patel told 
Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California, raising his voice during one 
particularly combative interaction.

   "You can make an internet troll the FBI director, but he will always be an 
internet troll," Schiff shot back as Patel continued to shout over him.

   Patel sought to keep the focus on what he said was a series of 
accomplishments in fighting violent crime, protecting children from abuse and 
disrupting the flow of fentanyl. He similarly touted the FBI's work in 
arresting within 33 hours the man suspected in Kirk's assassination, but also 
faced questions over confusion he caused soon after the killing when he posted 
on social media that "the subject" was in custody.

   That person was later released after investigators determined he had no 
connection. Patel said he had been trying to be transparent with the public and 
didn't consider the post a mistake, but acknowledged he could have been clearer.

   "Could I have been more careful in my verbiage and included 'a' subject 
instead of subject? Sure," Patel said.

   Questions about FBI firings

   Democrats repeatedly tried to steer the hearing back to the turmoil inside 
the FBI, including a purge of experienced agents and supervisors that they said 
was a troubling about-face from his confirmation hearing pledge in January that 
he would not look "backwards" or seek retaliation as director.

   "I'm not going to mince words: You lied to us," said Sen. Richard 
Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat.

   Patel angrily disputed that suggestion, and said that though he could not 
discuss the specifics of those firings due to the litigation, "Anyone that is 
terminated at the FBI, as I've said before, is done so because they failed to 
meet the standards and uphold their loyalty and oath to the Constitution."

   Five agents and top-level executives were known to have been summarily fired 
last month in a wave of ousters that current and former officials say has 
contributed to declining morale.

   One of those, Steve Jensen, helped oversee investigations into the Jan. 6, 
2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Another, Brian Driscoll, served as acting 
director in the early days of the Trump administration and resisted Justice 
Department demands to supply the names of agents who investigated Jan. 6. A 
third, Chris Meyer, was incorrectly rumored on social media to have 
participated in the investigation into Trump's retention of classified 
documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.

   A lawsuit filed last week by three of the fired agents alleged that Patel 
understood that the firings were "likely illegal" but had to carry them out 
because he was ordered to do so from the White House. Patel on Tuesday denied 
taking orders from the White House on whom to fire.

   "I believe that you're failing as a leader and that your failure does have 
serious implications for the safety and security of Americans and our 
families," said Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey. "We're more 
vulnerable to domestic and foreign attack because of your failures of 
leadership."

   The accusation prompted an angry response from Patel, who called it a "rant 
of false information" and rattled off what he said was a series of successes 
under his watch as the FBI has elevated its focus on illegal immigration, 
street crime, drugs and human trafficking.

   "If the FBI under my seven-month leadership were failing this administration 
and this country, why do we have 23,000 violent felons arrested this year 
alone?" Patel asked. "Why is it that we have seized 6,000 weapons? Why have we 
found 1,500 child predators and arrested them?"

   Patel had a similarly tense exchange with Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat 
on the committee, after Durbin challenged him on an unsubstantiated theory 
advanced by Deputy Director Dan Bongino that the placement of pipe bombs in 
Washington ahead of the Capitol riot was an inside job.

   "I find it disgusting that everyone and anyone would jettison our 31 years 
of combined experience that is now at the helm of the FBI, delivering historic 
results at a historic speed for the American people," Patel said.

   Retaliation denied

   Republicans eagerly came to Patel's defense, with Sen. Chuck Grassley of 
Iowa, the committee chairman, praising the director for having "begun the 
important work of returning the FBI to its law enforcement mission."

   "It's well understood that your predecessor left you an FBI infected with 
politics," Grassley stated.

   The hearing unfolded against the backdrop of the Kirk killing and on the 
same day that the suspected shooter, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, was charged in 
Utah with aggravated murder. Patel said the FBI was continuing to investigate 
the suspect, who authorities said ascribed to a " leftist ideology, " with 
investigators "running out every lead related to any allegation of broader 
violence."

   The FBI director was also challenged on whether he was pursuing retaliation 
against perceived Trump foes, including through a fresh inquiry the bureau has 
undertaken related to the long-concluded FBI investigation into potential ties 
between Russia and Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.

   Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse estimated that Patel had already taken some sort of 
adverse action against 20 of the 60 or so people who were singled out in what 
the Rhode Island Democrat described as an "enemies list" in a 2023 book Patel 
authored called "Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth and the Battle 
for Our Democracy."

   The Justice Department, for instance, appeared to confirm in an unusual 
statement in July that it was investigating former FBI Director James Comey and 
former CIA Director John Brennan, both pivotal players in the Russia saga.

   "That is an entirely inaccurate presupposition," Patel said. "I do not have 
an enemies list."