Takeaways from the US Senate confirmation hearing for FBI pick Kash Patel

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which is headed by President Donald Trump, has tried to defuse allegations that he would use the domestic security agency for political gain during his first confirmation hearing before the US Senate.

Patel’s appearance was one of three contentious hearings unfolding on Thursday, as Trump’s nominees for high-level government positions seek to gain Senate approval.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a skeptic of vaccines who wanted to take the helm of the Department of Health and Human Services, and Tulsi Gabbard, a nominee for director of national intelligence, were among them.

However, Patel was scrutinized for his long-standing loyalty to the Republican leader and real estate tycoon despite the fact that both Gabbard and Kennedy are only recently aligned with Trump.

Before joining Trump’s administration during his first term as president in 2019, Patel, 44, worked as a federal prosecutor and public defender. He held a variety of positions, including those held by the director of national intelligence and the secretary of defense.

But after Trump’s first term ended, reports emerged that several officials vehemently objected to Patel’s ascent in the ranks. If Patel was appointed the agency’s deputy director, Gina Haspel, the organization’s head, allegedly threatened to resign.

Patel has remained one of Trump’s trusted advisors and media proxies, even writing a children’s book that sympathetically depicts the Republican leader as a besieged king.

In addition, he has made a number of public statements, suggesting that, if the FBI’s headquarters were to become a “museum of the deep state,” he might prosecute journalists.

Those statements were repeatedly brought up during Thursday’s hearing, as Democrats pressed him on his qualifications and ethical standards. What the hearing uncovered was most important.

Republicans converge on Patel’s side.

Despite the controversy surrounding his nomination, Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee appeared to support Patel right away at the start of the hearing.

Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the chairman of the committee, set the tone in his opening remarks.

He echoed Trump’s claims that the FBI and the Department of Justice had used force against Republicans in particular, and the president.

Trump served two terms in office before taking office, and in 2021 he became the first US president to face criminal charges, including for keeping classified documents, falsifying business records, and trying to subvert elections.

The FBI has a low level of public trust. Only 41 percent of Americans believe that the FBI is performing well, according to Grassley. “It’s no surprise that public trust has decreased in a law enforcement institution that has experienced abuse, lack of transparency, and weaponization.”

Grassley added that Patel, if confirmed, would be tasked with restoring that trust.

Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, the ranking Democrat on the committee, answered Grassley’s statement with one of his own.

“Since 1935, the motto for the FBI has been ‘ fidelity, bravery, integrity'”, Durbin said. I don’t think you up to the standard after our meeting with Mr. Patel and looking at his record.

After previous FBI directors who refused to follow his instructions, Trump nominated Patel, according to the Democrat.

“With Mr Patel, however, obviously the president has found a loyalist. Mr Patel’s loyalty includes touting conspiracy theories and threatened efforts at President Trump’s enemies”, Durbin said.

Democrats face an uphill battle in blocking Patel’s confirmation, though. By the end of the hearing, Patel’s nomination appeared poised for a full Senate vote, where Republicans hold 53 seats out of 100, compared with 47 for Democrats and independents.

Trump feuding over the date of January 6

Early in the hearing, Durbin and Iraqi protesters were arrested for their participation in an attack on the US Capitol, and one of the biggest revelations was made.

As a result of the Senate’s certification of the 2020 presidential election results on January 6, 2021, thousands of Trump supporters poured into the Capitol.

They broke into the Capitol, assaulted law enforcement, and threatened to “hang” officials like Vice President Mike Pence, motivated by false claims that Trump’s 2020 defeat was the result of widespread fraud.

Under former President Joe Biden, an estimated 1, 583 people involved faced federal criminal charges.

On the first day of Trump’s second term, however, the Republican leader commuted 14 sentences and granted full pardons to the rest of the accused.

In line with Trump’s own position, Patel has expressed sympathy for the January 6 “hostages” — even promoting the work of the so-called J6 Choir — made up of imprisoned defendants, to raise money on their behalf.

Durbin questioned Patel directly on Thursday to find out if Trump’s blanket pardon of the rioters was incorrect.

“  I do not agree with commutation of any sentence of any individual who committed violence against law enforcement”, Patel responded.

Patel reiterated his position when questioned about cases in which law enforcement was harmed and injured at the Capitol, offering a rare example of a policy change for Trump.

“Senator, I have not looked at all 1, 600 individual cases. According to Patel, “I have always argued for the imprisonment of those who harm our law enforcement and civilian communities.”

Patel refutes Patel’s desire to politicize the FBI.

Patel’s earlier claims about how he might use the office of FBI director sparked another conflict.

In a podcast from a Republican ally in 2023, Patel reiterated the Republican leader’s warning that alleged political rivals could face criminal charges upon his return to office.

“We will go out and find the conspirators, not just in government but in the media”, Patel said. We’re going to go after the media figures who fabricated information about Americans who aided Joe Biden in the presidential election rig.

Those statements — and similar ones — were a recurring theme of Thursday’s hearing. Patel tried to refute them, with some claiming that the quotations were taken out of context.

“I have no interest, no desire and will not, if confirmed, go backwards. In a conversation with Senator Chris Coons, Patel said, “The FBI won’t be politicised.” Should I be confirmed as the FBI director, there will be no retributive actions by any FBI.

Patel pledged to never engage in “anything unlawful or unconstitutional.” However, Coons inquired about Patel’s willingness to step down if the president asked him to follow an ethically dubious directive.

“Senator, I will always obey the law”, Patel replied, appearing to sidestep the question.

Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, a different Democrat, sought assurances that Patel wouldn’t permit the firing of Trump’s top federal investigation officials.

Under Trump, the Justice Department has already fired career attorneys who were allegedly accused of manipulating classified documents and of influencing his election campaign.

“Will you declare your intention to not allow the FBI agents to leave these investigations while working with the special counsel’s office?” Blumenthal asked, demanding a “yes” or “no”.

“Every FBI employee will be held to the absolute same standard, and no one will be terminated for cases”, Patel instead replied.

He then added: “All FBI employees will be protected against political retribution”.

Expanding law enforcement capabilities

Patel, meanwhile, sought to play up one of his selling points: that he would flesh out the FBI’s law enforcement capabilities.

He used this as a deterrent to his earlier claims that he would take down the FBI’s Washington, DC headquarters on the first day of power to dispel criticism.

“A third of the workforce for the FBI works in Washington, DC”, Patel replied. “I am fully committed to having that workforce go out into the interior of the country where I live, west of the Mississippi, and work with sheriff’s departments and local officers”.

“The American people deserve the resources, not in Washington, DC, but in the rest of the country”, he added.

Patel positioned himself as a willing ally in the fight against policing violent crimes, as Trump himself has attempted to elicit an aggressive stance.

Combating violent crime is the eighth and final core goal of the FBI’s website’s mission statement at the moment. That needs to be number one”, Patel said.

But the hearing got repeatedly heated, as Patel and his Democratic critics clashed.

The only thing Patel is doing is discrediting the men and women at the FBI, according to Senator Amy Klobuchar, one of his most fervent critics, “if the best attacks on me are going to be false accusations and grotesque mischaracterizations.”

However, Klobuchar responded that Patel was merely making his own claims.

Source: Aljazeera