All posts tagged "kash patel"

Kash Patel's girlfriend mocked as she deploys novel 'hogwash' legal standard to sue MS NOW

The internet was mocking Alexis Wilkins, FBI Director Kash Patel's girlfriend, after she filed a defamation lawsuit against MS NOW and claimed the organization's reporting "damaged" her reputation over reports that she used FBI resources through her boyfriend for her personal advantage.

In the lawsuit filed Friday, Wilkins cited a December story that included anonymous sources claiming that Patel told FBI agents to take Wilkins's drunk friend home after a night of partying in Nashville.

"As a country singer, author, and political advocate, known for her Christian, patriotic, America-First, and pro-law enforcement values, her brand and ability to work in her profession would be significantly damaged if her employers, her publishers, her listeners, or her readers, believed that she was abusing the public trust and using her relationship with Director Patel to misappropriate FBI resources," according to the suit.

Rebecca Kutler, MS NOW president, shared a statement with Raw Story regarding the lawsuit.

"We stand firmly behind MS NOW’s reporting. As a general matter of practice, we don’t comment on ongoing legal matters," Kutler said.

Political commentators responded to Wilkins's suit and the claims.

"Kash Patel girlfriend and 'country music sensation' Alexis Wilkins is suing MS NOW over reporting that she used FBI agents to drive a drunk friend around," Will Sommer, senior editor for The Bulwark, wrote on X.

"Kash Patel’s girlfriend Alexis Wilkins sues MS NOW for defamation citing the novel legal standard: 'This was hogwash and they knew it,'" Ron Filipkowski, editor in chief of MeidasTouch, wrote on X.

"Her brand would be damaged if people thought she used Kash Patel to get FBI perks? Babe, if you’re dating Kash Patel, your brand is already wearing hazard lights," user Sundae_Gurl, a progressive social media account and frequent political commentator with more than 128,000 followers, wrote on X.

"Kash Patel continues to attack freedom of the press via the girl who is his friend. 'Alexis Wilkins, through her relationship with FBI Director Kash Patel, abused FBI resources' is the claim made in this latest lawsuit. How could anyone believe a non-spouse has power to abuse government resources she doesn't control? The Binall Law Group looks like they are simply attacking Patel's critics in the press by pretending to defend the girl-who-is-his-friend," Kyle Seraphin, a podcaster and former FBI agent with more than 246,000 followers, wrote on X.

"Can't wait to see them argue how a non-FBI employee and non-FBI spouse's access to a SWAT team protective detail and taxpayer funded jet isn't abusive," Steve Friend, FBI whistleblower and host of The American Radicals Podcast, wrote on X.

Kash Patel's lover takes MS NOW to court over accusations of 'hogwash' reporting

FBI Director Kash Patel's girlfriend and country singer Alexis Wilkins has filed a lawsuit against MS NOW, claiming that the outlet's reporting about her use of FBI agents is "hogwash," according to reports on Monday.

Wilkins had filed the defamation lawsuit on Friday, citing that "MS NOW had knowingly and recklessly published lies about her," The New Republic reported. The lawsuit involved a December story that included anonymous sources claiming that Patel told FBI agents to take Wilkins's drunk friend home after a night of partying in Nashville.

“This was hogwash and they knew it,” Wilkins's attorneys wrote in the 16-page suit, which also claimed that the security detail had not yet been created for the FBI director's significant other, who is 27 and "does not drink."

"She does concretely have one now—the first time in U.S. history the bureau’s director has extended such protection," The New Republic reported.

However, the story never reported that Wilkins was inebriated, yet the singer's legal team has appeared to be confused over the details of her claims. "In their filing, her team contradicted themselves, later writing that Wilkins 'very rarely drinks,'" according to The New Republic.

The suit has accused MS NOW of writing a story "in George Costanza fashion" in order "to self-promotingly advance their own agenda and notoriety" at the expense of Wilkins.

Rebecca Kutler, MS NOW president, shared a statement with Raw Story regarding the lawsuit.

"We stand firmly behind MS NOW’s reporting. As a general matter of practice, we don’t comment on ongoing legal matters," Kutler said.

Patel has been accused of excessive drinking in a report from The Atlantic and faced grilling from lawmakers over the allegations, which he has denied.

Republicans en masse skip Bondi's closed-door Epstein hearing

House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. James Comer (R-KY) was apparently the only Republican lawmaker attending the interview with former Attorney General Pam Bondi on Friday, MS NOW reported.

Sources told MS NOW that the atmosphere in the room was tense as Bondi appeared frustrated over the questions during the closed-door, transcribed interview with lawmakers as they continued their investigation into late financier and convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) commented that Republicans had skipped the Bondi interview — and called them out.

"I want to point out there's not a single Republican in the room besides the chairman [Comer]," Stansbury said, adding, "For a supposed group of individuals who care deeply about justice for the survivors, not a single one could be bothered to travel across the country today."

"It's sort of a curious fact of today's closed door transcribed interview, because the thing that set this all in motion was the fact that the Oversight Committee back in March had voted to subpoena Pam Bondi when she was still attorney general," MS NOW Congressional reporter Mychael Schnell told anchor Chris Jansing.

"And the reason why it was successful was because there were five Republicans who crossed ranks and joined that effort make putting it over the finish line, which was a stunning, stunning move considering the fact that President Trump, on a number of occasions has tried to push back on the Epstein files and the investigation overall, whether or not you know why they're not here today, as you mentioned, James Comer is here," Schnell said. "We did hear from him earlier. It's worth noting that currently Congress is out of session. They're on recess. So members are back home in their districts. Of course, that doesn't take away from the fact that they could have come into town for such an important interview. So certainly an interesting fact here as we go through the motions of this transcribed interview. But certainly Comer said that he was going to be asking Pam Bondi all the questions that the survivors had raised, including about redactions, withholding and Ghislaine Maxwell's prison sentence."

Bondi's comments had prompted questions over whether the committee would subpoena Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who at the time was Bondi's deputy, and current FBI Director Kash Patel, Jansing said.

But that could be difficult to do, said MS NOW Senior Legal Reporter Lisa Rubin, and Republicans could have deliberately chosen not to show up.

"Certainly it would be hard for the committee today to vote on a subpoena like that because they don't have the votes," Rubin explained.

"Chairman Comer would have to be the one to initiate that vote, but also authorize the subpoena," Rubin said. "And I think that this today, the transcribed interview was conveniently scheduled in a way that many Republicans would not be there, meaning they gave the Democrats the interview that they were seeking after having subpoenaed Pam Bondi. But they set it up at a time where she would not be subject to hard questions from members of her own party."

There could be more questioning to come for both Blanche and Patel, Rubin added.

"In terms of Todd Blanche and Kash Patel, those are absolutely people to whom these questions should be directed," Rubin said. "And I have to say this may be inconvenient for some of the Democrats, but it was absolutely predictable and intelligible, legally, that Pam Bondi would say that she could not discuss her conversations with the president. That is something that is protected by executive privilege."

Kash Patel staging American Gladiator-like contest to crown 'fittest' FBI agents: report

FBI Director Kash Patel's latest training gimmick will be a competition to find the fittest male and female agents, according to new reports.

The Daily Mail and Washington Examiner confirmed with bureau officials that the internal contest will look for the 'fittest' agents.

The FBI will host a two-day event in early July at its Quantico Training Academy in Virginia, according to reporting by the Daily Mail.

Each of the FBI's 56 field offices is expected to nominate one male and one female agent to represent them at the event, according to an FBI spokesperson who spoke with the Daily Mail.

"All 56 field offices across the nation are being actively encouraged to put forward their absolute best," the Daily Mail reported, citing an FBI spokesperson. "The bureau is framing the intense, multi-day competition as a unique way to foster camaraderie while keeping elite agents in peak physical condition."

According to reporting by The Washington Examiner, which also spoke to an FBI spokesperson, the contest is voluntary and only open to "line-level, nonsupervisory special agents."

Trump may soon banish his embattled FBI director to 'some faraway land': analyst

FBI Director Kash Patel has faced a number of embarrassing moments lately, including the most recent revelation that he reportedly went on a "VIP snorkel" of the Pearl Harbor memorial. This controversy is fueling swirling speculation about Patel's future in the Trump administration, an analyst reported on Thursday.

Patel has been on thin ice with Trump after reports surfaced of allegations of excessive drinking, a video showing him partying with the Olympic hockey team, and using government-funded jets on trips. MS NOW producer Steve Benen reported on Thursday on why the latest revelation has been so notable.

"Part of what makes the new allegations so striking is the fact that many of Patel’s troubles stem from leaks from FBI insiders," Benen wrote. "The director has struggled for months with critics within the bureau, but there’s every reason to believe the problem is getting worse."

"What’s more, it’s worth appreciating just how unsurprising the latest controversy is," Benen added.

It's unclear what could come next for Patel and his White House career. Politico had reported weeks ago that things "aren't looking great" for the FBI director and that he could be the next Trump administration official to leave.

"This dovetailed with related observations about just how little the White House has done to defend Patel, or even to say his name out loud, in the face of multiple controversies," Benen explained.

"The director started scrambling soon after to save his job, but between the latest reporting and the 'Saturday Night Live' sketches that lampooned Patel as a national joke, no one should be too surprised if the president starts looking for some faraway land that needs a new ambassador. Watch this space," Benen added.

FBI boss Kash Patel took secret 'VIP snorkel' at America's hallowed WWII gravesite

Kash Patel didn't just visit Pearl Harbor last August. He snorkeled it.

The FBI director — already under fire for joy-riding on government jets and crashing the Olympic hockey locker room — quietly slipped beneath the waters of the USS Arizona Memorial for an exclusive underwater tour of the sunken battleship that entombs more than 900 American sailors and Marines. The Associated Press revealed the excursion on Thursday after obtaining government emails through a public records request.

The Navy called it a "VIP Snorkel." Critics are calling it something else entirely.

"It fits a pattern of Director Patel getting tangled up in unseemly distractions — this time at a site commemorating the second deadliest attack in U.S. history — instead of staying laser-focused on keeping Americans safe," said Stacey Young, founder of Justice Connection, a network of former federal prosecutors and agents who fight for the Justice Department's independence.

Nobody Will Say Who Set This Up

An FBI spokesman flatly refused to answer questions about the snorkeling session, issuing only a vague statement about Patel attending "national security engagements" with military counterparts.

The Navy confirmed the outing happened but said it "was not able to track down who initiated it."

The National Park Service, which co-administers the memorial, said it wasn't involved and refused to comment further.

"It's Like Having a Bachelor Party at a Church"

Snorkeling and diving at the Arizona are almost entirely off-limits to the public. The wreck has been a military cemetery since Japan bombed and sank it in 1941. The only people who regularly dive there are marine archaeologists, National Park Service crews surveying the wreck's condition, and the occasional ceremonial diver interring the remains of Arizona survivors who wanted to spend eternity alongside their shipmates.

Hack Albertson, a Marine veteran who dives the Arizona annually as part of a select group from the Paralyzed Veterans of America, didn't mince words.

"It's like having a bachelor party at a church. It's hallowed ground," he said. "It needs to be treated with the solemnity it deserves."

A former government diver, who spoke anonymously for fear of retaliation, told the AP that no FBI director since at least 1993 had ever gone snorkeling at the memorial. The diver called it unusual for anyone not connected to the memorial to have such access, citing physical risks and serious "security, safety, and logistical challenges."

The Trip Patel Didn't Want You to Know About

What makes this worse: the FBI never disclosed any of it.

When Patel swung through Hawaii on his way to official visits in Australia and New Zealand, the bureau issued press releases touting his tour of the Honolulu field office and his meetings with local law enforcement. What those releases didn't mention was that Patel came back to Hawaii for two additional days after his initial stop — and spent one of those days snorkeling over the graves of nearly a thousand American servicemen.

Flight tracking data show the FBI's Gulfstream G550 lingered on the island for two nights before jetting off to Las Vegas — Patel's adopted hometown.

The Navy says participants were briefed on the "historic significance of the Memorial as the final resting place/tomb for hundreds of service members" and told not to touch the wreck. It also insisted the outing was "not an anomaly," noting that past snorkelers have included Navy admirals and secretaries of defense and interior.

A Pattern That Won't Quit

This is far from Patel's first rodeo with questionable use of his perch atop the FBI. In February, a video surfaced of him partying in the locker room with the U.S. Men's Olympic hockey team after their gold medal win in Milan. Patel has defended that trip as "purposely planned" around a cybercrime investigation with Italian authorities — a claim that has raised eyebrows.

Then there was the New Zealand visit, just one day before the snorkeling session, where Patel gifted that country's police and spy chiefs 3D-printed replica pistols that turned out to be illegal to possess under local gun laws.

Some family members of Pearl Harbor survivors told the AP they don't object to rare official visits to the site. But they also noted they've never been allowed to snorkel there themselves.

Jen Psaki mocks Patel with supercut of clips bragging about his drinking

MS NOW host Jen Psaki revealed that FBI Director Kash Patel wasn't shy about his drinking in the past — before he was the agency's top leader — sharing a video highlighting multiple moments where he openly talked about it.

Patel, who testified in a hearing on Tuesday before the Senate Appropriations Committee in Washington, D.C., faced questions about allegations of heavy alcohol use following reports of misconduct and footage of him chugging and spraying beer in the locker room at the Olympics with the U.S. Men's Hockey team after they won the gold medal in Milan, Italy.

"Patel has spent a lot of time and energy denying these specific stories about his alleged drinking," Psaki said. "But we already know a good deal about his drinking habits from public accounts and things he said publicly."

In one of the clips, Patel told MAGA influencer Benny Johnson that he predicted people would talk about his drinking.

"Can I be the first one to say that if I ever go before a Senate confirmation they're going to call me an alcoholic," Patel said, wearing a MAGA hat and cracking open a beer during an episode of "The Benny Show."

Psaki reacted to the video.

"His words, not my words," she said. "I mean the guy had enough foresight to joke that he might one day face questions about his drinking. But now that he's in a big, important government job, he's very clearly outraged by those very questions from the Senate."

It's not like Kash Patel was ever shy about talking about his drinking habits before he was the FBI director.

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— The Briefing with Jen Psaki (@briefingwithpsaki.bsky.social) May 12, 2026 at 7:06 PM

'Stick to podcasting': Senator tees off on embattled FBI director Kash Patel

A longtime Democratic leader on Tuesday had a serious message for FBI Director Kash Patel as Patel scrambled to respond.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) expressed concerns about Patel's leadership of the FBI during the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing in Washington, D.C. Patel, who was testifying before lawmakers, pushed back against claims of excessive alcohol use and other allegations of misconduct.

"I am deeply concerned about the reports that your leadership has not been serious," Murray said. "We need somebody at this agency who is focused on solving criminal cases, not passing out branded bourbon or jetting around the globe. Your job is to be reachable... If you want to pass out liquor or pop bottles in a locker room, stick to podcasting. Leave law and order to people who really do care about justices and appearances, that is really critical. It's what I am really deeply concerned about and so are many people."

Murray was referencing recent reporting from The Atlantic that Patel has been distributing personalized, FBI-branded bottles of Woodford Reserve bourbon to bureau staff and civilians during official business. The Atlantic also reported that Patel transported cases of the bourbon on a Department of Justice plane during a February trip to the Winter Olympics in Milan, where he was filmed celebrating with the U.S. men's hockey team and reportedly left a bottle behind in the locker room.

Patel attempted to defend his tenure, sharing a paper with apparent stats titled "FBI 2025 & 2026 under Trump administration," outlining his accomplishments since he took the top position.

"If people want to continue the baseless, fraudulent personal attacks at me. That's great. Keep the target on me, but the mission has never been better," Patel said.

Murray responded again.

"I appreciate the work of our FBI agents, but leadership, serious leadership is a concern," she added. "And we are seeing the pictures of passing out branded bourbon and what happened at the Olympics, jetting around the globe, all the rest of it, and that I will say, again, Mr. Chairman, is of deep concern to me."

Yelling match breaks out as Patel snaps: 'Only person slinging margaritas was you!'

Yelling broke out between FBI Director Kash Patel and Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) during a congressional hearing on Tuesday in Washington, D.C.

Van Hollen was questioning Patel during the Senate Appropriations Committee when the line of questioning grew heated.

"Multiple reports, including reporting by The Atlantic, have alleged excessive episodes of drinking, unexplained absences and behavior that concerned current and former FBI DOJ officials," Van Hollen said.

Van Hollen asked Patel, who has publicly denied the accusations and filed a defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic following the report, if he would testify before Congress about whether the allegations are categorically false.

"Unequivocally, categorically false," Patel responded.

"So there have been no occasions during your tenure when FBI personnel were unable to promptly reach you?" Van Hollen asked.

Patel denied the allegations and said he maintains constant communication with the agency, White House and federal and state law enforcement officials.

"So there have been no occasions when your security detail had difficulty waking or locating you?" Van Hollen pressed.

"Nope, it's a total farce. I don't even know where you get this stuff, but it doesn't make it credible because you say so," Patel said.

"It's been written and documented," Van Hollen said, pushing back on Patel's claims.

Patel and Van Hollen started arguing when the back-and-forth fired up, with Patel snapping at the Democratic lawmaker.

Patel went on offense, lobbing a pair of unverified personal attacks at Van Hollen. He claimed the senator had been "slinging margaritas in El Salvador on the taxpayer dollar" during Van Hollen's trip to meet with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man wrongly deported by the Trump administration. Van Hollen has denied that claim, saying a Salvadoran government official placed the drinks on the table and that neither he nor Abrego Garcia touched them.

Patel also alleged, without evidence, that Van Hollen had run up a $7,000 bar tab at a Washington, D.C. establishment. Raw Story could not independently verify the claim, and no corroborating reporting exists.

"FBI Director Patel, come on," Van Hollen said.

WOW -- Patel snaps at Van Hollen and attacks him with debunked smears, saying, "the only person that was slinging margaritas in El Salvador with taxpayer dollars with a convicted gang-banging rapist was you" pic.twitter.com/CFNpGOU7YU
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 12, 2026

Kash Patel hit with blistering line of questioning over 'gross dereliction of duty'

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) fired off serious questions on Tuesday during a congressional hearing with FBI Director Kash Patel, pressing the agency's leader over allegations of heavy alcohol use and reports of Patel purging agents who were linked to Trump investigations.

Van Hollen directly spoke to Patel about the concerns he has and laid out multiple reports that he found troubling during the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing in Washington, D.C.

"Because what we are learning about what's happening at the FBI is anything but normal," Van Hollen said. "Director Patel, as you ask for more taxpayer resources, we cannot look away from the credible, extremely troubling reports about your misconduct at the FBI."

"Director Patel, I don't care one bit about your private life and I don't give a damn about what you do on your own time and your own dime, unless and until it interferes with your public responsibilities," Van Hollen said. "Being the director of the FBI is an awesome responsibility and when your private actions make it impossible for you to perform your public duties, we have a big problem. You cannot perform those public duties if you are incapacitated. And Director Patel, these reports about your conduct, including reports of your being so drunk and hungover that your staff had to force entry into your home, are extremely alarming. If true, they demonstrate a gross dereliction of your duty and a betrayal of public trust. I cannot imagine ever having to worry about former FBI Directors Wray or Mueller spending multiple weekends drinking heavily at the Poodle Room in Las Vegas."

Patel has denied these reports.

"The problem with your leadership is it does not end there," Van Hollen added. "We're also witnessing a litany of other abuses — political firings of trusted career agents whose only fault was following the facts and the law, that includes the firing of agents and staff from a special counterintelligence unit that monitored threats from Iran, weaponizing the FBI to seek political revenge on former FBI Director James Comey and others, using FBI investigative resources to go after journalists who write stories that you don't like."

Sen. @ChrisVanHollen (D-MD) to Kash Patel: "We cannot look away from the credible, extremely troubling reports about your misconduct…Reports of your being so drunk and hungover that your staff had to force entry into your home are extremely alarming." pic.twitter.com/9YXUNKqrwp
— CSPAN (@cspan) May 12, 2026