Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) says he has evidence that Trump FBI director nominee Kash Patel "may have perjured himself" during testimony at his recent confirmation hearing.
The New York Times reports that Durbin says he has "multiple sources" who claim that Patel was secretly coordinating with other Trump administration officials to conduct a purge of agents at the FBI despite the fact that he has not yet been confirmed to his post.
Durbin sent a letter about the matter to inspector general Michael Horowitz describing what he called "highly credible information from multiple sources" that Patel had personally organized firings of FBI officials along with acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove.
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"In his letter, Mr. Durbin recounted a meeting between Mr. Bove, who has helped spearhead mass firings of Justice Department prosecutors, and F.B.I. leadership," reports the Times. "Mr. Bove supposedly told the bureau officials that Stephen Miller, a White House aide, was pressuring him on Mr. Patel’s behalf to move more quickly in firing senior career officials at the bureau."
The report goes on to note that Patel said during his Senate testimony that he was "not aware" of any Trump administration plans to fire FBI officials and claimed to have no knowledge of the current inner workings of the agency.
The United States Senate is due to vote on Patel's confirmation this Thursday.
