FBI Director Kash Patel pushed back against criticism from Democratic lawmakers over his handling of the manhunt for the gunman who killed conservative activist Charlie Kirk, telling senators he had no plans to step aside despite questions about his use of social media during the investigation.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Patel said during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday. “Bring it on.”
Patel faced questions about his premature social media post during the manhunt, in which he claimed the “subject for the horrific shooting” was in custody before issuing an update saying the person had been released. Lawmakers pressed him on the episode, which they said fueled confusion at a critical moment in the investigation.
Patel, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump, drew some of the sharpest rebukes from Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, the panel’s top Democrat, who took him to task for staff upheaval at the agency.
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“Director Patel came to the FBI with a political mission,” Durbin said. “With the power of his office and the blessings of the president, he attacked the FBI with a vengeance.”
Patel defended his broader record, pointing to what he described as unprecedented enforcement gains under Trump.
“Under this administration, the FBI has arrested more than 23,000 violent criminals,” he said. “That’s more than twice the same time period from last year alone.”
Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa pressed Patel on whether Jeffrey Epstein, the financier and convicted sex offender who died in federal custody in 2019, had ever served as an intelligence asset for the US or a foreign government. Patel replied that, “as the director of the FBI,” he could only speak for his agency, and that Epstein “was not a source for the FBI.”
Patel also addressed social media platforms and whether they’re fueling political violence. Patel said the data showed that online networks were “wildly out of control” in driving radicalization and added that he supports stripping companies of their legal shield under Section 230.
Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said free speech doesn’t extend to grooming children or inciting murder.