FBI Director Kash Patel will testify Wednesday before the House Judiciary Committee, his second hearing since the killing of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk, and just one day after an explosive hearing on Tuesday before that saw Patel grilled by a Senate committee.
Patel is expected to be grilled by lawmakers on his agency’s handling of the investigation into Kirk’s killer, which has drawn scrutiny for its numerous missteps, which include false statements and inflammatory rhetoric.
Were Wednesday’s hearing to go similarly to Tuesday’s, Patel may also face questions on his agency’s handling of the Trump administration’s probe into disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, who died in 2019 while awaiting sex-trafficking charges and was alleged to have run a blackmail operation targeting powerful figures.
Patel was grilled Tuesday by several lawmakers on Epstein, being accused by Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) of having engaged in what he dubbed the “Epstein files cover up.” He may also face questions regarding the purges of FBI staff, which many critics have labeled as partisan in nature, and retribution toward President Donald Trump’s perceived political enemies.