Kash Patel put on spot as Dem lawmaker plays past clips of him promoting Epstein theories

FBI Director Kash Patel was put in the hot seat Wednesday after past clips of himself accusing the FBI of being complicit in covering up for Jeffrey Epstein were played during an explosive House committee hearing, leading Patel to shift blame to the Biden and Obama administrations.

“Director Patel, before you joined the FBI, you railed against it for covering up Jeffrey Epstein's human trafficking ring; let me refresh your memory with this clip,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD).

Committee members were then shown past clips of Patel from late 2023 promoting the idea that the FBI was directly complicit in a cover to protect potential co-conspirators of Epstein, who died in 2019 awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges and is alleged to have run a blackmail operation targeting powerful figures. One clip saw Patel stating that Epstein’s alleged ‘Black Book’ of contacts was “under direct control of the director of the FBI.”

“You were sworn in as director more than 200 days ago, now the Black Book is under you're direct control, so why haven't you released the names of Epstein's co-conspirators in the rape and sex trafficking of young women and girls?” Raskin pressed Patel.

“The rolodex, which is what everybody colloquially refers to as the 'Black Book,' has been released,” Patel asserted.

Trump’s Justice Department did, in fact, release heavily-redacted portions of Epstein’s Black Book in February. However, much of its content was obscured, and in some cases, more redacted than what journalists had released nearly half a decade prior in 2021.

“No, you're talking about what the journalists got five years ago,” Raskin fired back. “That's not what we're talking about, we're talking about what you were talking about there, the Black Book under the direct control of the FBI director.”

Patel went on to point fingers at former presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, arguing that nothing on Epstein had been released under their administrations, and also touted unrelated arrest numbers of child predators achieved under the Trump administration.

“We have released more material than anyone else before,” Patel said.

“Really?” Raskin said. “Have you released all of the stuff that the FBI has seized from Epstein's house? The computers, the emails, the file cabinets, the documents? What about the financial records, have you released all of that? …I want you to follow your own word, Director Patel!”

The FBI currently holds a trove of files related to Epstein that have yet to see release, much of it acquired during its 2019 raid of Epstein’s Manhattan home, where law enforcement seized hundreds of lewd photos and other evidence, including CDs with hand-written labels with phrases such as “Young [Name] + [Name].”

Given the nature of the allegations against Epstein, and his home being riddled with cameras, that evidence has sparked speculation that the FBI is in possession of material that could implicate potential co-conspirators.

Patel went on to, again, to point fingers at Biden and Obama, before blaming his agency’s lack of full disclosure around Epstein on federal courts and a non-prosecution agreement granted to Epstein in 2007.

“Why don't you just release the entire file, as you promised to do?” Raskin pressed.

“I literally just told you,” Patel said.