Snorkeling at Pearl Harbor: Kash Patel's Travels Add to Focus on Ethical Issues (New York Times Gift Article)

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The F.B.I. director continues to come under scrutiny for mixing government business with dates, vacation and leisure time.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/15/us/politics/patel-fbi-travel-snorkeling-pearl-harbor.html?unlocked_article_code=1.i1A._lyf.54Rq3Q4j2Q0Y&smid=bs-share

Last summer, the F.B.I. director, Kash Patel, capped a whirlwind South Pacific trip with a snorkel trip in Hawaii.

There, Navy SEALs used two boats to transport and escort Mr. Patel and nine other people on what a Defense Department email called a “V.I.P. Snorkel” next to one of the military’s most sacred sites, the underwater tomb of the U.S.S. Arizona that holds the remains of more than 900 Navy sailors and Marines who died at Pearl Harbor.

Mr. Patel swam in the vicinity of the tomb for 30 minutes, according to the Navy.

Out of respect for the dead entombed in the wreck of the Arizona, rules bar visitors even from wearing swimwear at the memorial. With some exceptions over the years for dignitaries, the only people allowed in the water around the tomb are military and National Park Service divers interring the remains of the last Arizona survivors in the wreck, or conducting annual maintenance surveys, according to a former Navy officer and a former National Park Service official familiar with restrictions at the site.....

The idea of a high-ranking government official receiving an escort from the SEALs for a recreational swim near the tomb is “horrifying,” said William M. McBride, a Navy veteran and professor emeritus of history at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis.....

Last year on Saturday, May 10, Mr. Patel and Ms. Wilkins traveled from Washington to Philadelphia to see George Strait and Chris Stapleton perform, a hot ticket among country music fans. Mr. Patel and Ms. Wilkins flew there on the F.B.I.’s Gulfstream V jet.

Mr. Patel and Ms. Wilkins saw the show from a private suite at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field, according to three people with knowledge of their trip, including an F.B.I. employee who happened to be at the concert and saw them. The suite sold for $35,000 to $50,000 for that show, according to a person who has booked those accommodations in the past......

In early April, Senator David McCormick, Republican of Pennsylvania, invited Mr. Patel and top federal and state law enforcement officials to Allentown, Pa., for a closed-door meeting on combating trafficking of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that has killed tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians.

Mr. Patel brought along Ms. Wilkins, who sat at the head of the table with Mr. Patel and top F.B.I. officials as they discussed strategy and heard emotional testimony from families whose children died from overdoses. Ms. Wilkins’s presence confused some attendees, one of whom asked the F.B.I. what her role was. In an emailed statement, Mr. McCormick said he had invited Mr. Patel, but the F.B.I. said he invited Ms. Wilkins, too.

Patel is really pushing it.

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1. Concert Date of FBI Jet

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2. FBI's Patel baffles closed-door meeti Patel baffles closed-door meeting attendees by letting girlfriend participate

Patel is really trying to impress his girl friend.

FBI's Patel baffles closed-door meeting attendees by letting girlfriend participate

— Raw Story (@rawstory.com) 2026-05-16T14:43:31.861Z

https://www.rawstory.com/kash-patel-girlfriend-2676903828/

FBI Director Kash Patel has once again blurred the lines between personal and professional conduct, bringing his country singer girlfriend to a closed-door meeting with top federal and state law enforcement officials to discuss combating fentanyl trafficking — raising eyebrows about his judgment and priorities.

According to the New York Times, in early April, Republican Senator David McCormick of Pennsylvania invited Patel and other top law enforcement officials to Allentown for a confidential meeting on fentanyl trafficking strategies. The synthetic opioid has killed tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians.

Patel brought country singer Alexis Wilkins to the meeting, where she sat at the head of the table alongside Patel and top FBI officials as they discussed law enforcement strategy and heard emotional testimony from families whose children died from overdoses, the report states.

Wilkins' presence at the sensitive meeting confused attendees. One participant asked the FBI what her role was and why she was there. According to the Times, the agency and Senator McCormick offered conflicting explanations — McCormick said he invited Patel alone, while the FBI claimed Wilkins was also invited....

The incident adds to a growing pattern of ethical concerns surrounding Patel's conduct as FBI director. Recently, Patel was granted a VIP snorkeling adventure at Pearl Harbor next to the USS Arizona — "an underwater tomb holding the remains of more than 900 Navy sailors and Marines who died in the attack," the Times reported.

[underpants]

3. That they inter survivors blew my mind when I read it earlier. In a good way.

I didn’t know they did that but I’m glad they do.

I didn’t know until now that swimwear isn’t allowed even, I’d guess, on tours. I’m glad.

Kash is acting like a drunken frat boy. He was t in a frat at the University of Richmond but I’m sure he saw their antics and is trying to relive those years.

He formed a wannabe rooting club apparently. The Cellar is a pub. I’ve lived here for 30+ years and I’d never heard of it. A U of R thing I guess- mostly rich out of staters.
https://www.thecollegianur.com/article/kash-patel-richmond-rowdies-3426-20260304

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4. Patel needs to be fired after he thought it was a good idea to use his title as the FBI Director to snorkel at this site

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