President-elect Trump plans to nominate Kash Patel to head the FBI, elevating a controversial figure who was a staunch ally who caused internal strife during the first Trump administration.
Ms. Patel specifically called for mass firings at both the Justice Department and the FBI, and also called for the security clearances of individuals involved in the investigation of Mr. Trump while he was a candidate for president in 2016 to be revoked. He has regularly accused the “deep state” of interfering with crime. President Trump's first term.
“Kash is an accomplished lawyer, investigator, and America First fighter who has spent his career exposing corruption, upholding justice, and protecting the American people. “He played a pivotal role in debunking Russia, Russia, Russia disinformation and served as a champion of truth, accountability, and the Constitution,” Trump wrote on his social media site Truth Social. I said in a post on Saturday.
President Trump's announcement indicated that he plans to fire current FBI Director Christopher Wray, who he first appointed in 2017 and whose 10-year term would otherwise have ended in 2027.
The FBI did not directly address Patel's nomination.
“The men and women of the FBI continue to work every day to protect the American people from a growing array of threats. Director Wray continues to focus on the men and women of the FBI, the people we work with, and the people we collaborate with. The agency said in a statement Saturday night.
Beyond the plan to boot Mr. Wray, Mr. Patel's background could also complicate his confirmation in the Senate.
Patel, a former public defender who rose to become the Justice Department's national security prosecutor under the Obama administration, got his start in politics as a staffer for Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) and worked as an advisor. Ta. In the House Intelligence Committee.
There, Patel played a key role in trying to discredit the Democratic task force on President Trump's ties to Russia. This included writing a report analyzing the FBI and Justice Department's response to their own investigations into Russian election interference.
Mr. Patel also becomes one of a series of employers who supported Mr. Trump during the impeachment inquiry.
Patel moved from Congress to the White House, serving as the National Security Council's senior counterterrorism director before moving to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Patel was seen as a Trump supporter and was nearly appointed to replace then-CIA Director Gina Haspel, but she threatened to resign over the move, Axios reported at the time.
At the end of 2020, he moved to the Pentagon, and NBC reported on him from time to time. stagnant work It is working with the Biden transition team to prevent staff from sharing information.
On January 6, he was serving as chief of staff to then-acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller, who was appointed to the role the day after President Trump fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper.
His brief stint at the Pentagon came under intense scrutiny from the now-disbanded Jan. 6 committee, which asked him to sit in on an interview after writing: Documents and information related to the Pentagon and White House in preparing for and responding to the attack on the U.S. Capitol, as well as their personal involvement in the planning and peaceful transfer of power for the events of January 6th. ”
Mr Patel has denied any wrongdoing or improper conduct in connection with the attack.
Patel also played a role in another Trump saga that led to the former president's indictment: the Florida documents case.
Patel he claimed to have witnessed President Trump verbally ordered some documents found in his home to be declassified, the details of which have been floated by his defense team but not fully asserted.
Patel is also the author of the children's book “A Plot Against the King,'' which the book promotes as telling the story behind “one of our country's greatest injustices.''
While the book portrays Patel as a wizard, Trump is clearly the king, facing the threat of “Hillary Queenton,” while Nunes and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) ) etc. appear.
Mr. Patel currently serves on the board of a company that oversees Mr. Trump's social media sites.
As recently as this month, Patel echoed Trump's claims about the “deep state” and questioned his agency and the investigation into the Trump campaign in 2016.
“The deep state can't be trusted. They are weaponizing the government for their own political and personal ends,” Patel wrote in his foundation's newsletter, criticizing the investigation into President Trump's Russia ties. He called it a “fraud.”
Mr. Patel has faced backlash, particularly from former members of the FBI itself.
Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe argued that Patel would put the agency in a dangerous position.
McCabe previously told CNN's Caitlan Collins: “No part of the FBI's mission is safe with Kash Patel in a leadership position at the FBI, certainly not as deputy director. ” he said. “The scope of authority is enormous.
Updated at 8:06 PM ET.
