All posts tagged "kash patel"

This gruesome Trump allegation cannot go unpunished

At the risk of taking a political stand within the context of a vicious criminal attack on girls and women, it is time for Democrats to push much harder on all matters connected to Jeffrey Epstein. Political fortunes align with doing far more than the less-than-minimal action currently undertaken.

With the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and congressional heat on billionaire Les Wexner, members of the public around the world want to see a real investigation and consequences. Indeed, other nations are initiating their own investigations. Momentum is building.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and FBI Director Kash Patel are far angrier at the people wanting answers than at the people who raped girls. It's time to use that fury against them.

In the name of the victims, Democrats must push for America to undergo "De-Epsteinification.”

DOJ must be pressed to release all the files. Given its obvious reluctance and obfuscation, along with Trump's demand that the nation "move on," Democrats must be actively preparing contempt and impeachment proceedings, to initiate the moment they have control of Congress next year (presuming, of course, that they gain it. Polling suggests that they will.)

But this isn't about just releasing the files. It is more about putting people in prison.

Congressional Democrats must now start to call for De-Epsteinification through a special prosecutor's office, sitting outside Bondi and Trump's control, staffed with prosecutors from any or no party and given four directives:

Rid the nation of this stench and suspicion.
Punish rapists and their enablers.
Publish a 9/11-like report on the entirety of what is found.
Find justice for the victims.

The British chose to prosecute a member of their own monarchy. American legitimacy rides on this nation's willingness to deal with ours, formerly the untouchables.

As an attorney, I understand there are constitutional considerations, but given that Congress can apply overwhelming pressure for the appointment of special prosecutors, there is likely a means — once Democrats regain control.

Of course, it shouldn't have to be this way. The attorney general and FBI director used to be fiercely independent. But like so much else in the Trump era, it's now all about loyalty, and if we've learned anything about this regime, it is that loyalty to the king trumps all.

This is made especially true in light of the recent shocking allegations that DOJ actively suppressed one of the most gruesome allegations arising out of an alleged attack by Trump on a girl then aged around 13, in 1983. A nation dedicated to the rule of law cannot survive if such a gruesome allegation goes without real investigation, never mind is actively hidden.

So take it out of their hands. Establish a congressional De-Epstenification Office, give it a pile of money, and let it work.

When even the Joe Rogans and Shawn Ryans of the world recognize the current investigation is a sham, it's time to do more and do it around the administration. The American public is ready for someone to take control. It should be Democrats in Congress.

There is literally no one else.

The push has to start before the power is secured, there may be enough Republicans who might crossover prior to the election, but, if not, it can and should be a campaign issue. Outside the pursuit of a true sense of justice, the political advantages are clear.

The public will hear Trump's fury and panic, forcing him to daily confront questions as to why he doesn't want rapists brought to justice. And even the push will act as a major incentive for Bondi, her deputy Todd Blanche and Patel to move forward in a way that convinces the public that such a prosecutorial group isn't necessary.

To be sure, a special prosecutor's office is never an ideal solution. Investigation would be done behind closed doors instead of through congressional hearings. Additionally, as we saw with both Robert Mueller and Jack Smith's prosecutions, such investigations take an immense amount of time. There would also be some pretty valid constitutional challenges.

Push it anyway. Yes, justice delayed is justice denied. But justice redacted, covered up, and politicized is no justice at all.

If Trump committed crimes in relation to Epstein, it will be all but impossible to prosecute him personally. He will pardon himself for everything while on the way out the door, no matter what happens. But we can at least attempt to ensure that the "Trump Kennedy Center" loses a sponsor, no airports will ever bear his name, victims can seek restitution, and his legacy will lie in history's landfill. Meanwhile, even billionaires can face the threat of prison.

It is the right thing to do. This is the time to start to do it. And to the extent that politics should play a role in any of this, let it do so in a way that punishes those who seek to evade punishment. The "De-Epsteinification of America" should start now.

Never again.

Jason Miciak is a former Associate Editor of Occupy Democrats, author, American attorney, and single parent girldad. Please follow @JasonMiciak and on Bluesky. Currently seeking beta readers for his latest soon-to-be-published novel, he can be reached at jasonmiciak@gmail.com

'Clown show': Dem appalled by GOP lawmakers at Clinton-Epstein deposition

Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) had a scathing message for her Republican colleagues in the House Oversight Committee following a closed-door deposition for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Chappaqua, New York on Friday.

Ansari told reporters she was appalled by Republicans and their behavior during the hearing, calling it "a clown show of a deposition." She claimed that Republican lawmakers in the room were not taking the investigation into the Epstein files seriously.

She cited the incident in which Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) had taken two photos, which were sent and posted by right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson. The move paused the hearing and derailed the proceedings because it violated the rules of the testimony, a Clinton spokesperson said.

"We now know that the DOJ, in their ongoing cover-up, intentionally seem to have redacted or withheld more than 50 pages of allegations from a minor against President Trump," Ansari said. "Do not forget that Kash Patel went in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee and said, under oath that the FBI had no credible allegations of any other people being involved."

"These documents that the DOJ intentionally has withheld from the American public in regard to the allegations against President Trump, came from the FBI," Ansari said. "The FBI had interviewed this witness many times. You do not do that if it is not serious. So Kash Patel needs to be immediately brought back before the Oversight Committee. He needs to answer these questions again, and we need answers immediately."

Clinton responded to questions from lawmakers for several hours and urged leaders to talk with President Donald Trump, whose name appeared in the Epstein files more than 38,000 times. Democrats demanded that the full video transcript of Clinton's responses be released without any edits.

Clinton delivered her opening statement before the committee investigating ties between the Clintons and late financier and convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, was slated to testify Friday before the committee.

"I had no idea about their criminal activities. I do not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein. I never flew on his plane or visited his island home or offices," Clinton said, which she also posted on X.

Neither of the Clintons has been accused of any wrongdoing.

Ansari: We now know that the DOJ, in their ongoing cover up, intentionally seem to have redacted or withheld more than 50 pages of allegations from a minor against president trump. Do not forget that Kash Patel went in front of the senate judiciary committee and said, under oath… pic.twitter.com/kMt7ZrfX8Y
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 26, 2026

This Trump fool is the reason for Savannah Guthrie's continued misery

Until Sunday, it wasn’t clear to me why Savannah Guthrie’s mom was still missing nearly a month after her disappearance. Then came images of the FBI director, Kash Patel, partying with members of the US Olympic hockey team after they won the gold medal.

Then it all started to make sense.

Why wouldn’t Nancy Guthrie’s kidnapping remain unsolved given the country’s leading lawman doesn’t take the law seriously? He thinks the FBI gives him access to things other people can’t, as if law and order were an exclusive membership card to an elite club.

Meanwhile, real people suffer.

For all we know, Nancy Guthrie could be dead.

If you haven’t heard, Patel took a taxpayer-funded jet to Italy to watch the men’s hockey final. His office said he was checking on security. His people accused reporters of lying when they reported the news. Their boss, with images of his partying, exposed their lies.

Sunday’s episode was only one instance of a larger pattern of lawlessness that's getting so big that the Times noted that Patel has “shown little willingness to curb or even conceal his jet-setting." He "has offered comparable explanations" (ie, lies) "to provide SWAT team protection for his girlfriend, Alexis Wilkins, a country singer and rightwing activist, as well as for his heavy use of federal resources for travel that has at times appeared to blur professional lines.”

The Times said that "over the summer, he flew on a government jet from the Washington area to Inverness, Scotland, for a getaway at the exclusive golf resort, the Carnegie Club, with friends ... He has also taken flights, at taxpayer expense, to a private hunting ranch in Texas and to a wrestling match in State College, Pa., to watch a performance by Ms. Wilkins.

The Times and others say Patel’s bad behavior comes in spite of “multiple, fast-developing crises.” These include Americans in Mexico being told to shelter in place after a drug cartel leader was killed by the military. Closer to home, police killed a Florida man who tried to enter Mar-a-Lago with a shotgun and a gas can. Scott MacFarlane added more context:

The FBI is being pushed by Epstein survivors to do more to investigate some of the people … that have come out in the released batch of Epstein files, which show the circle that surrounded Jeffrey Epstein as he prayed on girls and young women … All these things, not to mention crime nationwide, opioid crisis, gun crimes, child pornography, drug running, gun running, are happening as the FBI director is ... partying with his buddies.

But I think it’s the other way around. It’s not that Patel’s lawlessness is happening in light of these crimes. They are happening in light of his lawlessness. Why care about the law, or criminal consequences, when the country’s leading lawman shows so much contempt for it?

The Times reported that Patel was cheering Team USA when he tweeted that the FBI would dedicate “all necessary resources” to investigating the Mar-a-Lago incident. The implication is that he’s falling down on the job, as “all necessary resources” clearly didn’t include him.

But consider the message he's sending — that law enforcement is just empty talk. That's more consequential than falling down on the job. With his actions, Patel is saying that as long as you’re hooked up to the right people, you can do all the criming you want. Even if you’re not hooked up, just wait. When the cops are away, the criminals can come out to play.

This message was deepened by Patel’s (almost certainly fictional) claim that he was invited by the men’s hockey team to celebrate their victory with them. A different FBI director would have refused such an invitation out of concern that accepting it would not only compromise the bureau’s standing with the American people but also appear to encourage lawlessness. But public trust means little to a man who acts like he will never face public accountability.

Lawlessness isn’t harmless.

An FBI director who properly feared public accountability would never have let an Arizona sheriff investigate Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance without the FBI’s aid. He or she would have given Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos a choice: save yourself the humiliation of failure by accepting that the FBI is “the premier agency to deal with kidnappings,” as one expert described the bureau, or I will open my own investigation and guarantee your humiliation.

Instead, the FBI joined the investigation many days after Guthrie went missing, a debilitating loss of time, critics told the New York Post, that allowed for serious errors — for instance, surrendering the crime scene too soon, “with everyone from reporters to true-crime sleuths able to walk right up to Guthrie’s front door with no security or crime scene tape.”

As things stand, Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance is now approaching a month in duration. Her family seems increasingly desperate. Savannah Guthrie herself is forced to make public pleas to her mom’s kidnappers that yield no results. Nanos and Patel are both humiliated, but only Nanos, who faces future reelection as a sheriff, will be held accountable. Meanwhile, Patel jet-sets on the taxpayer dime, hastening the decline of public faith in law enforcement.

Kash Patel's jet-setting hindered Charlie Kirk killing investigation: whistleblower

A whistleblower claimed Tuesday that FBI Director Kash Patel's personal use of the agency's plane delayed the bureau's investigation into the killing of MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk on a Utah college campus on Sept. 10, The New Republic reported.

"Sen. Dick Durbin says whistleblower has revealed 'in the immediate aftermath of the murder of Charlie Kirk, the FBI’s shooting reconstruction team was asked to fly to Utah to aid the investigation and process the scene. However, the team’s deployment was delayed by at least a day because of a Bureau plane and pilot shortage caused by the Director’s personal flights,'" CBS reporter Scott McFarlane wrote on X.

The FBI has disputed this allegation.

"There’s publicly available info showing Director Patel in New York for the 9/11 ceremony the next morning - it wasn’t a personal flight," Ben Williamson, Assistant Director for Public Affairs at the FBI, wrote in response on X.

Patel has faced criticism after reports emerged that he used a government-owned FBI plane for personal travel with his girlfriend, country singer Alexis Wilkins. The use of federal aircraft for non-official purposes has raised concerns about misuse of taxpayer resources and potential violations of federal regulations governing government property. His most recent trip to the Winter Olympics in Italy, where he and the agency have said he long planned to attend and meet with security officials, has also come into question. Patel was seen partying in the locker room with the US men's hockey team after defeating Canada for the gold medal.

Jake Tapper in disbelief at 'beer-soaked' Kash Patel's defense of Olympics trip

CNN anchor Jake Tapper was shocked Monday by FBI Director Kash Patel's partying in the locker room with the gold medal-winning U.S. men's hockey team at the Olympics in Italy.

Tapper questioned what Patel was doing there — and exactly who was footing the bill. The move comes amid multiple high profile federal investigations.

"The FBI director's enthusiastic, beer-soaked celebration with Team USA at the Olympics in Milan. Does this count as official government business? And are you and I paying for it?" Tapper asked.

Tapper described how this wasn't the first time Patel has come under fire for using his taxpayer-funded jet for personal travel, including jet-setting with his girlfriend and country singer Alexis Wilkins.

"Believe it or not, that's your FBI director, Kash Patel, celebrating with the U.S. men's hockey team after their overtime win against Canada to win the gold medal. It was an incredible win that all Americans can celebrate," Tapper said.

He also pointed out how the FBI had sharp words for a reporter just before Patel was caught in the video partying, which Patel later defended, saying the trip was planned months ago for him to meet with Italian law enforcement officials and the American ambassador to Italy.

"Now, why exactly the FBI director who you might think would be busy with all sorts of things, why he's in the locker room in Italy, seemingly pounding beers along with the team well, you can be forgiven if you're asking that question, especially after FBI spokesman Ben Williamson was lashing out at a reporter from a different network on Twitter the day before the game for asking whether Patel was going to attend the match," Tapper said. "The FBI spokesman writing, quote, 'your rag outlet wrote that he went to hang out at the Olympics on the taxpayer dime, even when provided information that your theory was false,' unquote. Now the FBI is denying this was a personal trip for Patel."

'Fraud' FBI Director blasted by governor for 'private jet trip to Italy' paid by taxpayers

The Press Office of Gavin Newsom has criticized Kash Patel for using a Department of Justice plane to fly to Italy.

The FBI Director flew to Europe to attend the Winter Olympic Games, with CBS News claiming Patel orchestrated a flight to and from Italy to attend the hockey match. His plan to kick back at the sporting event has since been criticized by the Governor of California's press account on X, where a statement raging at the FBI Director has been released.

It reads, "WHY ARE TAXPAYERS PAYING FOR KASH KANT KATCH ’EM’S PRIVATE JET TRIP TO ITALY? WASTE, FRAUD, ABUSE!"

According to CBS News, "Public flight data reviewed by CBS News showed the FBI director took off on a government plane Thursday morning for an Air Force base in Italy, after a brief flight from Manassas, Virginia, to Joint Base Andrews, in Maryland Wednesday.

"Sources also confirmed to CBS News that Patel was en route to Milan, where he is planning to watch the Men's USA Olympic hockey team compete in the medal rounds."

FBI spokesman Ben Williamson went on to claim the trip is a legitimate one, as Patel plans on meeting with foreign law enforcement officials at the Olympic Games.

Williamson, posting to X, wrote, "[I]t's not a personal trip. Director Patel is on a trip that was planned months ago. It includes: partner meetings with Italian law enforcement and security officials (they invited the Director last July), meeting with Ambassador Fertitta (as a follow-up to our law enforcement roundtable he hosted in January), meetings with Legat staff, and more."

It comes after other allegations that Patel has used FBI aircraft for personal business, including to fly to a concert by his girlfriend, country singer Alexis Wilkins.

Patel came under pressure earlier this month after he was accused of lying to Congress by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY). The Kentucky Republican made the allegation in a social media exchange with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, whom Massie prodded to unredact the names of potential co-conspirators to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

'My God': Fury as Kash Patel accused of 'outrageous cover-up' of killing by ICE agent

Political observers raged over the weekend after the New York Times reported that FBI Director Kash Patel personally ordered local prosecutors to cease investigating the death of Renee Good because he feared it would contradict President Donald Trump's version of the killing.

The order came from Patel and other senior officials who worried that pursuing a civil rights investigation — by using a warrant obtained on that basis — would contradict Trump’s claim that Good “violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer” who fired at her as she drove her vehicle. Several insiders shared the account with the news outlet.

That story stirred up a frenzy among onlookers, including former prosecutor Richard Signorelli who said, "She was intentionally murdered on video! Where the hell are the MN prosecuting authorities in all of this. I'm requesting that Tim Walz formally request that Keith Ellison take over & prosecute the murderer STAT."

Ex-MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan chimed in, "They lied. All of them: Trump, Noem, Miller, Vance, and Patel. And then they covered it up."

Award-winning author Jennifer Erin Valent wrote, "This isn’t an administration, it’s a criminal organization."

She further added, "I don’t think enough Americans have even remotely digested just how lawless they are and how devastating their actions will be for our country now and long term."

Podcaster Chad Hartman wrote, "Everyone should want a local/state investigation."

"It’s not happening for one reason," he added .

Longtime journalist Todd Hartman simply weighed in with, "My God."

Carla Marinucci, a veteran political writer, added, "Outrageous cover up at the highest levels."

Political commentator Mark Bland additionally said, "Ooh this is bad. A STAND DOWN ORDER on the investigation of Renee Good from FBI DIRECTOR Kash Patel! Documented proof it happened. This Dept of Justice is not working in 'good faith' for the American people. That is their job."

Republicans squirm as they feel heat on Trump gun rights switcheroo

WASHINGTON — Top Trump administration officials have challenged long-held GOP orthodoxy on the Second Amendment in recent weeks — bringing condemnation from gun rights groups but notably not Republicans in Congress.

Democrats say this is yet another example of a dangerously divisive hypocrisy that holds the left and right to different standards.

“What we're seeing is complete hypocrisy. It's both stunning and crazy,” Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) told Raw Story at the Capitol this week.

“Those attacks have been so outrageous. The fact that they're calling people terrorists — ‘domestic terrorists’ — without collecting any information.”

The Trump administration applied that label to Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both 37, both U.S. citizens shot dead by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis last month.

Pretti was legally carrying a concealed firearm, which was removed by an agent before he was shot multiple times.

Republicans including President Donald Trump have said Pretti should not have carried a gun to a protest — a dizzying abandonment of normal GOP rhetoric on Second Amendment rights.

Regardless, among Republicans who control both chambers of Congress and are quick to investigate liberals, many are defending President Trump and his advisors — or choosing to dodge the question.

“Do you think your party needs to hold hearings on the Second Amendment?” Raw Story asked Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) on Capitol Hill this week. “Are you worried that it’s being attacked by members of the administration?”

“No, I don't know,” McClintock said. “I utterly reject the premise of your question.”

He was far from alone in adopting a GOP position that Democratic critics say showcases the president’s vision of two Americas.

‘Would-be assassin’

After years of challenging most any gun restriction, top Trump officials turned heads by condemning Alex Pretti.

The dead man was accused of “domestic terrorism” by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, labeled a "would-be assassin" by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, and rebuked by FBI Director Kash Patel.

“You cannot bring a firearm, loaded, with multiple magazines to any sort of protest that you want,” Patel said.

After backlash from gun groups, all those officials tried to walk their comments back. But this week, another top Trump appointee challenged longheld GOP orthodoxy.

“Bring a gun into this District, plan on going to jail,” Fox News host turned U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Perino said … before she too had to try to clarify comments so at odds with GOP rhetoric.

You wouldn’t know that from talking to Republicans on the Hill.

“I haven’t seen that,” Rep. Joe WIlson (R-SC) — who brags about having “lead on concealed carry in South Carolina” — told Raw Story. “I’m not familiar with it.”

“So are you going to spearhead hearings to protect the Second Amendment from this administration?” Raw Story asked Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), a prominent Trump supporter and candidate for governor in his home state.

“What?” Donalds said. “I always protect the Second Amendment. I always will.”

Other Republicans were happy to keep blaming Pretti for his own death.

“You have rights, but you don't have the right to infringe on other people's rights,” Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), a former U.S. Navy Seal, told Raw Story.

“Law enforcement has a right to enforce the law. If you interfere in that — like, gun or no gun — like, there's a chance you're going to get hurt.

“If you get pulled over, what do you do as a proper gun owner? You tell the police officer, ‘I am carrying.’ You tell them that. I don't know if that's a law, but it's, like, well-known in the community that that's just what you do.”

Other Republicans blamed the media.

“A lot of things can be taken out of context from the standpoint of what is happening,” Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY) told Raw Story.

“There's a lot of emotion surrounding what is happening in Minnesota, so I think people need to be careful of making hard and fast judgments about what somebody is doing or saying without understanding the context in which it was asked.”

While some Republicans have criticized comments from administration figures, they don’t see a need to publicly decry Team Trump.

“I thought that was a rush to judgment,” Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA), who has a concealed carry permit, told Raw Story. “I was disappointed.”

Still, Thompson doesn’t think House Republicans need to ask any officials to clarify.

“I'm guessing they got great feedback and got schooled on it,” Thompson said.

‘New levels of hypocrisy’

Democrats don’t know how to react to such a startling GOP about-face.

“I didn't think I could be stunned by new levels of hypocrisy, but I think this is maybe the most hypocritical of all the hypocrisy,” Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY), a military veteran, told Raw Story.

“Pretty pathetic from them, but not surprising these days.

“At this point, all principles have been sacrificed in fealty to Trump. All principles, including our Constitution, including the Bill of Rights.”

The episode is revealing, others said.

“You're not fighting for principles but you're playing for power,” Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) told Raw Story. “For the folks in this administration, it's about, ‘What's in it for me?’ Everything's malleable. Everything's negotiable.”

In Trump’s America, Democrats say, critics are held to a different standard.

“The administration supports the Second Amendment, apparently except for when demonstrators are carrying,” Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) told Raw Story.

“Do you worry that we have two Americas now?” Raw Story asked Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-PA).

“Oh, I do worry about that,” Dean said. “But I do think it's more a sign of how they're losing. How they're failing.

“They can't keep a grip on their own arguments without twisting themselves into knots over the fact that Alex Pretti lawfully was carrying a gun, [it] was taken from him and then he was executed in the street.

“They are tying themselves in knots to try to forgive ICE and to say it doesn't impact their precious Second Amendment rights.”

‘No credibility’

To Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, GOP hypocrisy is one thing, the administration’s rush to defend ICE agents no matter the allegations quite another.

“For folks that claim to be pro-law enforcement, rule number one in law enforcement, having been a mayor of a big city [Long Beach] with a lot of cops, is that you allow an independent investigation,” Garcia said.

“You don't prejudge it if you are the one doing the investigation.

“It's just a joke. I mean, there's no credibility. The DOJ is corrupt. The DHS is corrupt. Both [Attorney General Pam] Bondi and Noem should resign. They view things in two lenses … they view people as enemies, and people that support the president.”

If Democrats win the House in November, Garcia’s slated to replace Rep. James Comer (R-KY) as chair of the Oversight Committee. He’s promising investigations.

“We have a long list. Of course, we're going to look at Noem and, of course, we're going to look at Bondi, but the list goes on and on,” Garcia said. “There's so much to investigate.

“This is the most corrupt government to ever exist in the history of the United States. Where are all the DHS contracts going? Or the private prison contracts? How much money is the Trump family, you know, gaining?

“I think all of it has to be looked at.”

Allegations fly as FBI head's past comments haunt him: 'Kash is part of a massive coverup'

FBI Director Kash Patel's own words came back to haunt him this weekend in the wake of a new release of files on deceased child abuser Jeffrey Epstein.

After the DOJ released millions more Epstein files ahead of the weekend, political analysts and observers began circulating an earlier Patel quote that they see as contradictory to the facts.

Under oath, Patel said, "There’s no credible information that Jeffrey Epstein trafficked minors."

But ex-Obama staffer Tommy Vietor claims that statement means Patel must be in on a cover-up.

"It is impossible to square the information in the latest Epstein files release with these comments by Kash Patel," Vietor wrote. "Kash is part of a massive coverup."

Columnist Molly Jong-Fast also responded to the old Patel quote Saturday, writing only, "I have questions."

Podcast host Mel Barrett wrote, "Soooo Kash lied to congress? Surely there’s a remedy for that kinda thing @HouseDemocrats @SenateDems @RepJeffries @SenSchumer."

The Patel quote from 2015 was recirculated amid the file release, and new comments and shares are being added by the minute.

Fox News host 'outwardly skeptical' as she presses Kash Patel on DHS killing claim

In an uncharacteristic moment on Sunday, Fox News host Maria Bartiromo appeared "outwardly skeptical" of FBI Director Kash Patel as she pressed him on the latest DHS killing.

In the interview, Bartiromo touches on the DHS killing of ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The host asks the head of the FBI, "But how was he threatening Border Patrol? How was he using a gun to threaten?" She then added, "He was filming it."

Patel didn't answer, instead saying, "That's something I'll let DHS because they are investigating that case." But that didn't stop people from noticing Bartiromo's delivery.

Independent journalist Aaron Rupar shared the video, exclaiming, "Notable that even Bartiromo seems to be bothered by this!"

Legal expert Ryan Goodman seconded that, saying, "Even Maria Bartiromo is outwardly skeptical of these B.S. lines from the administration."

"We all know what we saw," he added on Sunday.