Trump’s pick for FBI director gave clear answers to some senators’ written questions but appears to have hedged about his knowledge of the recent firings.
https://bsky.app/profile/pgblock.bsky.social/post/3lhhctpt7lc2m
If his memory/comprehension/understanding of discussions is that bad, I wouldn't trust him to go grab my lunch at the deli.
Was Kash Patel aware of FBI firings in advance? Not that he recalls
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/kash-patel-fbi-firings-confirmation-hearing-rcna190683
UPDATE (Feb. 11, 2025, 3:48 p.m. ET):
Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, has asked the Justice Department's inspector general to investigate whether FBI director nominee Kash Patel perjured himself during his confirmation hearing last month when he said he was not aware of plans to fire FBI officials. Durbin said Tuesday that "multiple whistleblowers" indicated Patel "has been personally directing" the firings. A spokesperson for Patel dismissed the allegation as a "false narrative."
Sen. Durbin has asked DOJ’s Inspector General to investigate potential perjury by Kash Patel, I want to add that in addition to his live testimony at his 1/30 hearing, Patel submitted written answers to questions posed by more than a dozen senators on the Judiciary Committee after that hearing. Those questions includes multiple variations of inquiries about his knowledge/awareness of and participation in the FBI firings—and Patel’s answers were not received by the Committee until Feb. 3.......
The QFRs contain a handful of other questions to which Patel also responded, “Not that I recall.” Those questions include:
Whether Trump or any other White House official has ever “asked, suggested, or implied” that Patel, the FBI, or DOJ “should open or undertake a review or an investigation of anyone,” including any person on Patel’s list of “Members of the Executive Branch Deep State,” as published in his 2023 book “Government Gangsters.” Patel added, “President Trump would not do that.”
Whether Patel recommended to Trump that he revoke any individuals’ security clearances.
Whether he discussed “using the FBI to investigate” former president Joe Biden, his administration, members of Congress, or journalists.
Patel also gave that same answer in response to some, but not all, questions about Tom Ferguson, a retired FBI agent and former aide to House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan who, according to NBC News, recently joined the FBI director’s office as an adviser.
Although Patel recalled a “brief call” from Ferguson to congratulate him on his nomination and “ordinary and friendly” messages with him via Signal, he was also asked whether he had seen Ferguson or communicated with Ferguson through any intermediary since the date of his nomination. In both cases, Patel replied, “Not that I recall,” but with respect to communications through others, added, “We have many mutual friends, it’s possible that I’ve asked a mutual friend to tell him ‘hello.’”
It very well may be that Patel cannot concretely recall his knowledge on those topics. But it’s notable that Patel’s language stands in contrast to many others of his responses that are less ambiguous. For example:
When asked whether he was “aware of any plans to remove FBI agents involved in investigations of President Trump,” Patel said no.
Asked whether, either prior to or after his testimony, he discussed the Jan. 30 firing of at least six senior FBI officials “with anyone in the administration, transition team, or outside advisors,” Patel admitted discussing “these matters with the transition team for the purposes of providing answers” to the QFRs.
Patel stated several times that he has “never accepted compensation” for serving as a board member of Trump Media and Technology Group, which owns Truth Social, and accordingly, does not have “any ownership or stake in this company” from which he could divest himself. Patel further explained that without his participation, the TMTG board awarded him and other board members “a monetary award and shares” last month as “compensation for past services provided,” but that “out of an abundance of caution and to avoid any appearance of any conflict, I did not and will not accept that compensation.”
Asked what remedy is available if Trump violates his constitutional duty to faithfully execute the laws, Patel opined that “t is outside the purview of the FBI director to opine on the legal remedies applicable if a President were to violate particular duties.”
During Patel’s confirmation hearing, senators also expressed concern about Patel’s knowledge of, and potential involvement in, Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. Under a court order compelling him to do so, Patel testified to a grand jury investigating that case in November 2022, but he generally was unwilling to discuss the substance of that testimony during his confirmation hearing. ....
Under Senate rules, the Senate Judiciary Committee cannot vote on Patel’s nomination until Feb. 13. However, discussion of his nomination appears on the public agenda for an "executive business meeting" of the committee scheduled for Feb. 6.
Patel is a liar that as been documented.
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