Kash Patel Continues To Draw Heat For His Exorbitant Spending Habits

from the somehow-every-DOGE-bro-missed-this-guy dept

Donald Trump believes that being elected president means he should never be challenged, never be asked to justify his actions, and never be given less than absolute loyalty and deference. He also clearly believes the office is there to serve him, rather than there for him to serve the public. He’s going to make bank from his position of power and anyone who doesn’t like it can keep their feelings to themselves.

Kash Patel — Trump’s appointee to head the FBI — seems to feel the same way about his job. It’s not exactly the same as Trump. He might get richer due to this position, but he clearly believes it’s there to help him pursue his dreams — dreams that appear to be the equivalent of those of a B-list celebrity. He wants backstage access, bottle service, a jet-setting lifestyle, and absolute loyalty. And, like Trump, for everyone to just shut up about it.

That’s why his tenure is more notable for lie detector tests, libel lawsuits, and ridiculous denials than for anything that might be considered an actual accomplishment. And that’s why he’s managed to go far enough that even some GOP members are getting sick of his bullshit.

FBI Director Kash Patel has been demanding special perks from bureau employees during his taxpayer-funded travels throughout the country, including helicopter tours and jet ski excursions, according to whistleblower accounts given to Democrats on the House and Senate Judiciary committees and obtained exclusively by MS NOW.

[…]

But the Democrats are not alone in their concerns about Patel’s use of public resources; MS NOW has also viewed a letter to Patel from Republican Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley written in May demanding that Patel turn over information about his flights on FBI aircraft and about the FBI’s purchase of BMW vehicles, which was first reported in December by MS NOW.

“For each trip where you used an FBI aircraft for personal travel, have you reimbursed the FBI as required by law?  If yes, please provide the records,” the Grassley letter says.

Of course, the FBI PR office denies any of this is true, despite all the documentation indicating otherwise. While there may actually be a cost savings (believe it or not) by switching to BMWs, the rest of this can’t be explained away as something that saves taxpayers money or makes Patel a better FBI director.

FBI spokesperson Ben Williamson claims this is all above board, saying Patel has reimbursed the government for all personal expenses. But if that’s true, it seems unlikely congressional oversight would be asking questions about it.

As for the Republicans upset about Patel’s behavior and tendency to treat the FBI director position as a lifestyle accessory, they simply can’t seem to engage in oversight without taking swipes at Democratic leadership for [re-reads reports] raising the same goddamn questions.

In a post on X after this story was published, Sen. Grassley said, “I see Dems r riding my coattails & suddenly showing interest in doing oversight of FBI aircraft. Where was that energy w Wray&other directors???” he wrote, referring to former FBI director Christopher Wray, who served under both President Trump during his first term and President Biden.

“My oversight is the same no matter the admin UNLIKE Dems who only seem interested in oversight when it benefits them politically,” he added.

lolwut?

I’m no fan of Christopher Wray, but no one ever suggested he was blowing taxpayer cash on personal trips to exotic locations. And no one ever even hinted that he might be the wrong person for the job due to an inability to remain reliably sober, much less ever caught on camera chugging booze with sports teams in their lockers after a victory.

And there certainly was nothing that sounded like this when Wray was running the FBI’s anti-encryption efforts:

The Democrats said they have been told that Patel “demoted personnel in Brussels because they failed to ensure you were adequately entertained, stoking fear among rank-and-file agents that they must provide your demanded perks or face termination. Concerns and strains prompted by the prioritization of your personal entertainment on international trips may have led to the resignation of the head of the FBI’s international operations this year.”

Not that anyone is going to get Patel to admit to any of these things. He may have to attend congressional hearings in the future, but everything we’ve seen so far from this administration strongly suggests tough questions will be met with open hostility, flat-out refusals to provide answers, and plenty of stupid assertions from the person under the congressional microscope.

That’s not to say this is a completely futile effort. It calls more attention to Patel’s antics and apparent disregard for his position and his duties. It keeps his carelessness in the public eye. Thanks to the source of the criticism, it makes it far more difficult for the FBI to pretend none of this is happening. Hopefully, there will be a reckoning. And hopefully this will happen long before Donald Trump leaves office.

Filed Under: ben williamson, chuck grassley, corruption, fbi, jamie raskin, kash patel, richard durbin, trump administration