Washington, D.C. — Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to send Kash Patel’s nomination for FBI Director to the full Senate.
Earlier this week, Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dick Durbin sent a letter to the Department of Justice Inspector General saying whistleblowers allege that Kash Patel is behind the ongoing purge of FBI officials. If true, that would mean Patel lied under oath during his nomination hearing.
During his nomination hearing, Patel promised to protect FBI agents from political retribution, stating, “[a]ll FBI employees will be protected against political retribution.” Now, it’s being alleged that Patel himself was directly involved in the firing of a number of officials for political reasons.
This is on top of a many other troubling revelations about Patel since his nomination hearing, such as his involvement in a number of foreign financial entanglements, including with the government of Qatar.
Before Patel’s nomination can go any further, he must answer questions about his involvement in the purge of FBI agents and how he plans to protect them from further political retribution.
In response, Congressional Integrity Project executive director, Kyle Herring, has issued the following statement:
“Everything we’ve learned about Kash Patel since his nomination hearing has raised more questions than answers. From allegedly purging FBI agents as a private citizen to undisclosed financial relationships with foreign governments, Kash Patel’s nomination reeks with corruption. During his hearing, Patel promised that he would protect FBI agents from political retribution, and he claimed to have no clue about any of the firings that have caused upheaval at the agency. Whistleblowers now say that he wasn’t telling the truth. The American people deserve to know that their FBI Director will protect them – not use his job to pursue political revenge.”