FBI Director Kash Patel broke into reciting the alphabet letter by letter in an apparent attempt to avoid answering a question on a supposed connection between President Donald Trump and the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein during a House committee hearing Wednesday.
Patel was testifying, under oath, before the House Judiciary Committee, just one day after testifying during an explosive hearing before a Senate committee, where the FBI director was grilled on several matters, including his agency’s handling of its investigation into Epstein.
Trump’s name is reportedly among the names in the Epstein files currently held by the Justice Department, with Attorney General Pam Bondi informing Trump of such back in May. And, according to Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), the FBI was tasked with screening Epstein files to “flag” any mention of Trump.
Patel was pressed on this issue during his testimony Wednesday by Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), who reminded the FBI director that he was under oath.
“Did you ever tell the attorney general that Donald Trump's name is in the Epstein files?” Swalwell asked.
“The attorney general and I have had numerous discussions about the entirety of the Epstein files and the reviews conducted by our teams,” Patel answered.
Swalwell repeated his question, verbatim, only for Patel to again dodge the question.
“It's a simple question,” Swalwell said. “Did you tell the attorney general that the president's name is in the Epstein files?”
Again, Patel dodged the question, leading Swalwell to shout that “the question is simple,” followed by him repeating the question in a slow, patronizing manner.
“Why don't you try spelling it out if you're going to mock?” Patel complained.
“Yes, or no!” Swalwell fired back.
“Use the alphabet!” Patel uttered. “No? A, B, C, D, E, F... don't want to do it?”
The two then engaged in a back and forth where again, Patel dodged the question by urging Swalwell to focus on crime in his home state of California. After being asked the question no less than ten times, Patel claimed that “the question has been asked and answered.”
Swalwell rejected Patel’s response.
“You have not answered it, and we will take your evasiveness as a consciousness of guilt,” Swalwell said.
FBI Director Kash Patel reciting his ABCs to avoid question on Trump-Epstein connection pic.twitter.com/hsor22S2zh
— Alexander Willis (@ReporterWillis) September 17, 2025