Kash Patel vindicates his nomination

Yesterday, Kash Patel appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which heard his nomination to direct the FBI. The respective House and Senate Judiciary Committees are the most partisan of all Standing Committees. But yesterday’s hearing reached a level exceeding even the staged rejection of Robert H. Bork for the Supreme Court. The questions from Democrats showed why President Donald J. Trump made exactly the right choice to head that troubled agency.

The Kash Patel hearing

Kash Patel went for his hearing at 9:30 a.m. EST yesterday (January 30). It lasted for nearly six hours.

Senate Democrats have identified a particular group of nominees to oppose at all costs. Kash Patel clearly is one of them. Even before the Inauguration, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), while he was still Chairman of the Committee, sent letters to the outgoing Attorney General and Secretary of Defense, and the outgoing Director of National Intelligence, asking for “dirt” on Kash Patel. Specifically he demanded records of Patel’s official correspondence from November 10, 2020 to January 20, 2021, regarding the:

• Election of 2020, and the:
• Transition to the Biden administration.

Durbin accused Patel of the usual laundry list of Republican sins against Democrats, referable to the Election of 2020.

In his opening statement, Kash Patel said out loud what everyone knows: people don’t trust the FBI anymore. (That’s even assuming they should have, because the FBI benefited from MK-ULTRA and COINTELPRO, two programs the Frank Church Committee discovered in its investigation of the FBI and CIA. Radio host Darrell L. Castle discussed those programs this morning on his show.) Knowing this, Patel pledged to restore that trust – by rooting out and punishing clear misconduct by the FBI and multiple Special Agents and their supervisors.

Such misconduct is unacceptable and undermines public trust. The erosion of trust is evident: only 40 percent of Americans hold a favorable view of the FBI. This must change. Public cooperation is vital for the bureau to solve crimes, and its declining reputation is already affecting recruitment efforts.

Democrats fault him for loyalty to Trump

Sens. Durbin, Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and especially Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) threw off on Kash Patel with every question they asked. Fred Lucas at The Daily Signal summed it up well: the Democrats have made up their minds. Of course they have. The Senate Judiciary Committee is the place for hyper-partisans of both parties, merely because they handle judicial nominations. But the FBI is a special case. Christopher Wray weaponized it so much that, during his tenure as Director, Americans were living in a Franz Kafka world. And the Democrats want to keep it that way.

Sen. Durbin lost no time in getting to the attack. Naturally he brought up President Trump’s order to pardon, or commute sentences for, 1600 January 6 defendants or convicts.

Do you think America is safer because 1600 people have been given the opportunity to come out of prison and live in our communities again?

Patel answered at first that he had not reviewed all 1600 cases. He did say he had “no tolerance” for those who “harm law enforcement.” He passed no judgment on any of the convictions – nor did he concede that any of those convictions were just. Then he said this:

I also believe that America is not safer because of Biden’s commutation of a man who murdered two FBI agents…The man that point-blank range fired a shotgun into their heads and murdered them was released from prison.

WATCH: Kash Patel calls out Dick Durbin’s hypocrisy at Senate Judiciary Committee hearing pic.twitter.com/gzuPGHGvxN— RSBN (@RSBNetwork) January 30, 2025

The man involved was Leonard Peltier, a Native American who seemed bent on restarting the Indian Wars. He murdered two FBI agents, then escaped from prison. President Biden commuted his sentence to time then served.

Durbin wasn’t done, and actually accused Kash Patel of racism – a ridiculous charge, considering Patel’s national origin. Patel coldly answered,

I certainly don’t believe that an individual who is the first minority to serve as the Deputy Director of National Security is a racist and detest any conjecture to the contrary.

Kash Patel just dropped the HAMMER on Dick Durbin after the Senator insinuated he's a racist



"I certainly don’t believe that an individual who is the the first minority to serve as the Deputy Director of National Security is a racist and detest any conjecture to the… pic.twitter.com/kosUY2umLR— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) January 30, 2025

Klobuchar tries running interference

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) tried to run interference for Director Wray.

Do you know under Chris Wray’s leadership, he took over at a very difficult time…During his tenure, applications to the FBI have tripled. Do you think that people would be applying to those agencies if, in fact, it was so corrupt?

Patel politely reminded her that that was then, and this is now – and now, confidence in the FBI is at an all-time low. So then she asked this, over and over again:

Did you say that the FBI headquarters should be shut down and reopened as a Museum of the Deep State?

That actually drew points of order and parliamentary inquiry from the Republican side. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), the Chairman, permitted Kash Patel to answer back, And he did:

If the best attacks on me are going to be false accusations and grotesque mischaracterizations, the only thing this body is doing is defeating the credibility of the men and women at the FBI. I stood with them here in this country, in every theater of war we have. I was on the ground in service of this nation, and any accusations leveled against me that I would somehow put political bias before the Constitution are grotesquely unfair.

And I will have you reminded I have been endorsed by over 300,000 law enforcement officers to become the next director of the FBI. Let’s ask them.

Sen. Klobuchar didn’t want to let the “museum of the deep state” quote go. Finally Chairman Grassley roared at her:

You forget that you will have three minutes, in the next round, to say what you just said!

And she promised to say it all over again.

HERE THEY GO AGAIN: Unhinged Sen Amy Klobuchar starts hyperventilating and goes over her time, has to be reigned in by Patel and Grassley.

KASH: "If the best attacks on me are going to be false accusations and grotesque mischaracterizations, the only thing this body is doing is… pic.twitter.com/DRLDsdevaS— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) January 30, 2025

For everyone’s information, Kash Patel did say that, in protest to the FBI’s weaponization.

A: "I'd shut down the FBI Hoover Building on day 1 and open a Deep State museum" pic.twitter.com/B5svCm9hM1— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) December 1, 2024

On another subject, Sen. Klobuchar suggested that Patel once said some Capitol Police officers lied under oath before the January 6 Committee. This exchange resulted:

Patel: That’s a general statement and a mischaracterization of what I said… I encourage you to read the rest of the interviews. his is why snippets of information are often misleading and detrimental to this committee’s advice and consent.

Klobuchar: If you consent, I would love to have five hours of questions, and then I could read the whole transcripts.

Patel: You’ve got two minutes.

Klobuchar: Wow.

Amy Klobuchar continues to get outmaneuvered by Kash Patel at every turn of this committee hearing.

KASH: “That is a general statement and a mischaracterization of what I said, I encourage you to read the rest of the interview. This is why snippets of information are often… pic.twitter.com/T9U9OrDdeU— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) January 30, 2025

Incredibly, Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) tried to get Kash Patel to violate the secrecy of a grand jury proceeding. Patel refused, but also suggested that the Committee should apply to Judge Aileen Cannon’s court for a transcript. That grand jury session concerns the indictment of Trump over his possessing classified documents at Mar-A-Lago. Judge Cannon dismissed the case, saying Special Counsel Jack Smith did not have a lawful appointment. The Acting Attorney General has dropped the case.

Shifty Schiff’s rant

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) started by asking Patel about an “inmates’ choir” that performed a song titled Justice for All. Kash Patel did discuss that song with Steve Bannon on his War Room show.

Sen. Schiff was furious and came unhinged. He kept questioning Patel on the latter’s use of the pronoun we in describing the project.

Schiff: When Trump recited the Pledge of Allegiance, then WE went to a studio and mastered it, digitized it, and put it out as a song exclusively on the (unintelligible). WE, WE, WE! If you had nothing to do with it, Mr. Patel, why did you tell Steve Bannon and all of his listeners that you did?

Patel: That’s why it says “we,” as you highlighted.

Schiff: But you’re part of the “we,” right? That includes you, Mr. Patel, doesn’t it?

Patel: Not in every instance.

Schiff: That’s new! So, when you said “we,” you didn’t really mean “you.” Is that your testimony?

Patel: Not unless you have a new definition of the word “we.”

Schiff: Well, I thought the wordwealways included the person who pronounced the word. But maybe not!

Adam Schiff is currently going on a very extensive questioning of Kash Patel over the definition of the word "We" pic.twitter.com/CjXwYplQ1n— TheBlaze (@theblaze) January 30, 2025

After that, Sen. Schiff RANTED AND RAVED AND SCREAMED AT THE TOP OF HIS LUNGS, bellowing at Patel to turn and look at a rank of Capitol Police officers standing in the back of the room.

Tell them you’re proud that you raised money off of people that assaulted their colleagues, that pepper sprayed them, that beat them with poles! Tell them you’re proud of what you did!

Patel – thoroughly angry, but still cool – retorted:

That’s an abject lie and you know it. I’ve never, never, ever accepted violence against law enforcement. I’ve worked with these men and women as you know you go and I did not make a single dime out of it.

The Senator did not, of course, mention that those convictions might have been subject to challenge, absent the pardons. The fourteen defendants whose sentences Trump commuted to time served, might still challenge the convictions or guilty pleas. They might allege coercion, violation of rules of evidence, jury pool taint, etc.

In any case, Kash Patel did say he was not sure all those who received pardons or commutations, deserved them.

Kash Patel blames Nancy Pelosi for January 6 event

The highlight of the day came during questioning by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). He asked Patel specifically about his activities on January 6, 2021.

Q: What were you doing on that day?

A: On that day, specifically, responding to, preparing to mobilize and employ the National Guard once we got the lawful request from the local governing authority, which was the mayor of DC and the speaker of the House.

Q: Now, how many days in advance were you working to prepare the Department of Defense to help secure the Capitol on January sixth?

A: Days in advance, Senator, we were in the oval office on an unrelated national security matter with the President of the United States, the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and myself and the President authorized up to 20,000 plus National Guard men and women to secure any security measures necessarily related to the capital. We were moving to the fullest extent of the law before the requisite request came from a local governing authority days ahead of time.

Q: While you were Chief of Staff at DOD, how many times did DOD approach Capitol Police and ask if they needed National Guard assistance?

A: I believe those letters are well-documented numerous instances, and numerous of those instances, those requests were shut down.

Q: Now, am I correct that the Capital Sergeant at Arms said assistance was unnecessary?

A: That’s correct, Senator.

Q: Who did the Sergeant at Arms report to?

A: The speaker of the House.

Q: That would have been Nancy Pelosi at the time. Is that correct?

A: Yes, Senator.

Q: Would that also be Chuck Schumer, then the Senate Majority Leader?

A: The Sergeant at Arms, yes, Senator, reports up there.

Q: Did Mayor Bowser, the Democrat elected mayor in DC, either request or allow National Guard assistance?

A: She put in writing on the days leading up to January sixth, a declination for National Guard additional support, and that letter is available publicly to the world.

Q: Just to speak English for folks at home, a declination meant she said, no, don’t send National Guard. Is that right?

A: Yes sir.

This account agrees completely with that of Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund, that Nancy Pelosi turned down National Guard assistance.

Pelosi was surprised we didn’t have National Guard on Jan6?? I was denied National Guard support multiple times before January 6, and repeatedly for 71 minutes ON January 6. MY STORY HASN’T CHANGED!

Pelosi was surprised we didn’t have National Guard on Jan6?? I was denied National Guard support multiple times before January 6, and repeatedly for 71 minutes ON January 6.
MY STORY HASN’T CHANGED!@RepLoudermilk @oversightadmn https://t.co/BIrV49GV6d— Chief Steven Sund (@ChiefSund) June 10, 2024

In reply, General Mike Flynn said:

She set the whole thing up and then set up the corrupt J6 UN-Select committee (that destroyed evidence), we now have hundreds imprisoned on fake charges, a country divided and an occupant inside the WH who can’t finish a sentence and wears depends! Tell me any of that is mis-information? And take the stupid mask off too. You can’t hide any longer.

She set the whole thing up and then set up the corrupt J6 UN-Select committee (that destroyed evidence), we now have hundreds imprisoned on fake charges, a country divided and an occupant inside the WH who can’t finish a sentence and wears depends! Tell me any of that is…— General Mike Flynn (@GenFlynn) June 11, 2024

Everyone who cares to know, has known this since February of 2021.

In another segment, Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) used his time to criticize Wray’s policy of treating concerned parents as domestic terrorists.

Q: I know Senator Willis has got the game of Bingo, I’d like to play a different game. Would you rather?

A: [laughing] Let’s have at it, sir.

Q: Would you rather the FBI prosecute and persecute parents who voice legitimate concerns at school board meetings, or should it investigate domestic terrorists who commit school shootings and threaten the lives of American children?

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A: Absolutely investigate, and prioritize the safety of our children, any real domestic terrorists, as I’ve prosecuted in my past in the Obama Justice Department.

Q: Would you rather the FBI be weaponized by investigating presidential candidates, political opponents, spying on and wire-tapping candidates’ advisors, or should the FBI get back to its core mission and get politics out of the FBI?

A: There should be no politics in the FBI. And having been a victim of the weaponization of law enforcement against me, I know what that feels like.

Q: Would you rather target traditional Catholics as extremists, or should the FBI focus on investigating actual threats posed to American people by cartels pumping fentanyl into our communities through the southern border?

A: One hundred thousand deaths due to fentanyl and drug overdoses in one year. I’d rather the FBI focus on that and save our children.

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NOW: Sen. Eric Schmitt launches a game of "Would You Rather?" with Kash Patel during his confirmation hearing

These questions are gold.@Eric_Schmitt: "Would you rather investigate parents at school board meetings, or investigate the sh**tings that threaten the lives of our… pic.twitter.com/QIn7OMgpXF— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) January 30, 2025

Analysis

Again, the Democrats – and at least two Republicans – have vindicated Donald Trump’s judgment. Only Kash Patel can salvage and restore the reputation and the true mission of the FBI. The Democrats don’t want this reform; they want the weaponization that Biden’s handlers brought. Trump and his allies want reform, and accountability for false-flag pseudo-operations.

And Trump means to have it. He and FBI Acting Director Brian Driscoll have fired six Executive Assistant Directors and twenty-five Special Agents in Charge. That represents 86 percent of the senior leadership and nearly half the field-office commanders. If half of what Kash Patel told Sen. Cruz is correct, that housecleaning is absolutely necessary to American freedom.