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.
“Mr. Patel, in just eight months, you have assaulted the institutional integrity of the FBI,” said Democrat Cory Booker of New Jersey, in one of several testy exchanges between Patel and senators.
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.
Patel, backed by Republican lawmakers who signaled their support for him, 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 boasted Tuesday that the man suspected in Kirk's killing was arrested within 33 hours 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.
“Could I have been more careful in my verbiage and included ‘a’ subject instead of ‘the’ subject? Sure," Patel said.
Democrats, for their part, repeatedly tried to steer the hearing back to the turmoil inside the FBI and suggested his firing of experienced agents and supervisors 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’s been terminated failed to meet the needs of the FBI and uphold their constitutional duties.”
Five agents and top-level executives were known to have been summarily fired last month in a purge 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 riot. 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.
“You’ve gutted the bureau of institutional knowledge and expertise,” Booker said. He said he believed Patel was "failing as a leader, and that your failure does have serious implications for the safety and security of Americans and our families.
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?”
At another point, Patel had a testy exchange with Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the committee. Durbin of Illinois challenged him on an unsubstantiated theory advanced by Deputy Director Dan Bongino that the placement of pipe bombs on a Washington street ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol was an inside job.
“I find it a disgusting thing that everyone and anyone would jettison our 31 years of combined experience that is now at the helm of the FBI, delivering historic results and historic speeds for the American people,” Patel said.
Republicans eagerly rallied 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 set to make his first court appearance. Patel said the FBI was continuing to investigate the suspect, whom 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 roughly 60 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 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.”
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Associated Press writers Lindsay Whitehurst, Alanna Durkin Richer, Stephen Groves and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.