Longtime pro-Trump commentator Megyn Kelly had some harsh words for FBI Director Kash Patel over how he handled the first hours after the Brown University shooting, The Daily Beast reported on Monday.
Kelly, who said she considers Patel to be a "friend," particularly slammed how the Trump official handled the initial detention of a "person of interest," touting that capture only to have to admit later that he was not involved. As of this morning, reports indicated that police essentially had to start the investigation over with the release of the initial suspect.
“I really actually think we can get past ‘person of interest’ turned out not to be the person. I think we can get past it. But it has to require utter, blatant transparency and honesty. But I’m not gonna lie, it’s not good,” said Kelly on her podcast. “It’s not good that our friend Kash Patel tweeted out they have a person of interest in custody and kind of patting themselves on the back when it wasn’t the guy. None of this is good.”
“I’m sorry, but Keystone Cops comes to mind when you look at what happened at Brown University over the past 36 hours,” Kelly continued. “Now, how much time has been lost in tracking the real killer because they were very focused on this guy?”
Notably, Patel has made a similar mistake before, getting way ahead of the details on who authorities were questioning in the immediate aftermath of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk's murder at a political event in Utah in September.
All of this comes following reports that President Donald Trump himself has been frustrated with how Patel is handling the job, compounded by a scandal involving his personal use of FBI aircraft and using government security detail for his girlfriend.