Jen Psaki revels as fact-check destroys Kash Patel's excuse for branded liquor bottles
MS NOW's Jen Psaki started her segment on Wednesday with a review of the news that FBI Director Kash Patel has personally branded liquor bottles — and the brutal fact-check The Atlantic provided on the agency's excuse for their existence.
"Tonight, even though Sarah Fitzpatrick is already being sued by Kash Patel, and even though she may be being criminally investigated by Kash Patel's FBI tonight, The Atlantic, Sarah Fitzpatrick published yet another incredible story about — ding ding ding, you guessed it, Kash Patel," said Psaki.
"Now, the 750-milliliter bottle that he travels with is engraved with Kash Patel's name and title, FBI director — classy — as well as the symbol of the FBI shield," said Psaki. "Now, if you look just below the shield on the screen, you will see Kash Patel's name yet again, but this time spelled his preferred way, of course, with a dollar sign instead of an S. Again, stay classy, Kash Patel. Stay classy. Patel also appears to have signed some bottles, writing his signature and then the number nine, presumably because he's the ninth person to hold the title of the director of the FBI. Which leads me to believe he has spent an awful lot of time on this particular search project right now."
"Fitzpatrick also writes that Patel has distributed these self-branded bottles to staff and civilians while on official business, including during at least one FBI event, and that Patel has even used Justice Department aircraft to transport cases of his bourbon merch," Psaki continued.
"Now, when The Atlantic reached out for comment, the FBI didn't even dispute that Patel has been giving out these branded booze bottles," she continued. "Instead, a spokesperson said that Patel has followed all applicable ethical guidelines and pays for any personal gifts himself, and portrayed the gifting of booze, bourbon, personalized bourbon as routine, saying that the bottles in question are part of a tradition in the FBI that started well over a decade ago."
"Is it now?" said Psaki. "And guess what? When Fitzpatrick tried to fact-check that statement, it fell completely apart. The FBI declined to provide images of bottles bearing the names of any past directors. Maybe because they don't exist. And when Fitzpatrick asked a former senior FBI official if he had ever seen any personally branded liquor bottles distributed by any previous FBI directors, he burst out laughing."
"Now, the story here is it's not just that Kash Patel allegedly drinks a lot," she added. "By this point, we've all seen him drinking with our own eyes. We all remember that visual. The story is that Kash Patel allegedly drank a ton at work as the boss in a workplace that traditionally has had a zero-tolerance approach to drinking on the job and even the abuse of alcohol off-duty. Because it is our chief law enforcement agency. As one former FBI agent told Fitzpatrick, the bottles are demoralizing, as they suggest one set of standards for the FBI's director and another for the rest of the bureau."
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