CLAIM: Mainstream media and Democrats have claimed that Kash Patel, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to head the FBI, has an “enemies list.”
Verdict: False. Although Patel's book lists “members of the Executive Deep State,” it is not an “enemy list,” and the term “enemy list” does not exist and is not mentioned. This is an appendix to the name of a book about government bad guys.
outlets such as new york times The New Republic then claimed that Patel “has an enemy list” and that President Joe Biden “should pardon everyone on it.”
As an opinion article from new york timestitled “Trump's FBI nomination has a list of enemies. Biden should pardon everyone involved in it,” Michelle Goldberg writes in Patel's book. Government Gangs: The Deep State, Truth, and the Fight for DemocracyPatel “lists” 60 names in a “convenient alphabetical appendix.”
WATCH — 'They're weaponizing justice' Trump's FBI Director Kash Patel slams deep state:
The article said Patel's book “aims to show how government officials who opposed Trump constitute a shadowy cabal that is the 'most dangerous threat to our democracy.'” Pointed out.
The names include former House Speaker Paul Ryan, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, and former Trump administration officials. the view Co-hosts Alyssa Farrah Griffin, Vice President Kamala Harris, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Patel's 2023 book, “Government Gangs: The Deep State, Truth, and the Fight for Democracy,” describes how government officials who rebelled against Trump became “the most dangerous threat to our democracy.” It is said to indicate that they are part of a shadowy cabal. The deep state, Patel said, is “as dangerous and evil as the villains portrayed in books and movies.” Virtually any investigation into Trump and his allies, Patel suggests, is part of a vast conspiracy against the “people's president.” The book strongly suggests that the “unprecedented violence” of January 6 was encouraged by “deep state” agitators and used as a pretext to persecute patriotic Trump supporters. In the blurb on the book's jacket, Trump wrote, “We will use this blueprint to take back the White House and rid the entire government of gangsters!”
Who are these gangsters? Patel lists 60 of them in a handy alphabetical appendix. By his own admission, his focus is limited to the executive branch, with “first-class corrupt officials” such as Sen.-elect Adam Schiff and former Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan, and “fake news.” This is not exhaustive, as it excludes “the whole”. Mafia reporters. ” His “deep state” catalog also includes Patel's bureaucratic adversaries from Trump's first administration, such as Bill Barr, who, as attorney general, worked with Trump said he could appoint Mr. Patel as FBI deputy director only “over my dead body.” Ray is the person who will replace Patel.
Patel also mentioned current Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and President Trump's Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. Also on the list are Cassidy Hutchinson, a brave young former aide to Mark Meadows who testified before the committee on Jan. 6, and Alyssa Farrar Griffin, a former Trump staffer who often criticized her old boss on “The View.” It's listed on. Naturally, Biden, Kamala Harris, and Hillary Clinton are also participating.
Ann article A New Republic paper titled “Kash Patel's biggest obstacle may be his own enemy list” also claimed that Patel had created a so-called “enemy list” of “deep state” members.
The article added that Patel “may have already undermined his own plans to prosecute these people.”
Patel's book includes “Appendix B,” which lists names such as former CIA director John Brennan and former FBI agent Lisa Page, but this is not a list of Patel's enemies.
Appendix B of Patel's book states:
This list includes only current and former executive branch employees and is not exhaustive. Other top-tier corrupt actors are not included, such as Reps. Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell, members of Fusion GPS and Perkins Coy, Christopher Steele, Paul Ryan, and the entire Fake News Mafia press corps. do not have. Last name.
Although Patel did not use the term “enemies list” in the appendix, other members of Congress, including Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pennsylvania), also refer to the list as an “enemies list.”
“By choosing Kash Patel to lead the FBI, President Trump has made it clear that he is more focused on solving personal crimes than protecting Americans and upholding the rule of law. '' Boyle said. said In a press release. “In his book, Mr. Patel publicly publishes an “enemies list,'' naming people he and Mr. Trump plan to investigate and prosecute, and criticizes Mr. Trump's lies, abuses of power, and attempts to overturn the 2020 election. This is not a hypothetical threat.
