BREAKING: Kash Patel accused of committing FEDERAL CRIME

You agree, Director Patel, that if one of your agents was unable to perform his or her duties because of excessive drinking, you would need to take corrective or disciplinary action.You agree with that statement?

We would implement the inspection review process, just like these other agencies have their own internal investigations and complete that review.

As I said in my opening remarks, I really don't care about your personal life so long as you are able to perform your public and official responsibilities, which are awesome responsibilities.Multiple reports, including reporting by The Atlantic, have alleged episodes of excessive drinking, unexplained absences, and behavior that concern current and former FBI and DOJ officials.You have publicly denied those allegations and filed a defamation lawsuit.So today, as you testify before Congress, is it your testimony that those allegations are categorically false?

Unequivocally categorically false.

So there have been no occasions during your tenure when FBI personnel were unable to promptly reach you?

Absolutely not.You can ask my entire workforce.They hear from me at every single hour of the day, as do these great gentlemen here, as do the men and women of the interagency and state and local law enforcement and the White House.

And so there have been no occasions when your security detail had difficulty waking or locating you, is that right?

Nope, it's a total farce.I don't even know where you get this stuff, but it doesn't make it credible because you say so.

I'm not saying it, Director Patel.It's been written and documented.

You are literally saying it.

No, I'm saying that these are reports, Director Patel.

Unlike your baseless reports, the only person that was slinging margaritas in El Salvador on the taxpayer dollar with a convicted gang -banging rapist was you.The only person that ran up a $7 ,000 bar tab in Washington, D .C.at the lobby bar was you.So the only individual in this room that has been drinking on taxpayer dime during the day is you.

Director Patel, come on.These are serious allegations.that were made against you.

The allegations are false.You drinking margaritas with a gangbanger is true and undeniable.You running a $7 ,000 bar tab at the lobby bar has been filed by your own office to drink during the day.That's you.This is the ultimate example of hypocrisy.I will not be tarnished by baseless allegations and fraudulent statements from the media.

The fact that you mentioned that indicates you don't know what you are talking about.In your response to me earlier, where you had a little bit of a blow -up, you made a couple provably false statements.So did you?No.Mr. Director, I was reading about and asking you, and asking you to respond to allegations that are made.In fact, I was giving you an opportunity to do that.

And you took that opportunity.But in the process, You made these provably false statements that I know are sort of like urban legend in right -wing media about margaritas in El Salvador, which is provably false.And so coming from the mouth of an FBI director to make provably false statements in a hearing like this is extremely troubling.And it, it leads me to ask whether or not the other things you've been saying are false statements.And so my, Because that's a provably false statement.You made a couple others that are provably false.

And this is from the mouth of the FBI director.The only one that made false statements is you.My final question to you, Mr. Director, is do you know that it is a crime to lie to Congress?Do you know that?That's my last question.I have not lied to Congress.

I didn't ask you that.The one that lied to Congress is you.I'm not testifying here, sir, and I don't lie.

Maybe the next time you run up a $7 ,000 bar tab, we can talk about it.

Well, see, there you go, lying again.You suggested that.

In the FEC report.I'll post it right now.

You suggested it was public.It wasn't public money, as you know.That was for a 50 -member staff party.

So it was a $7 ,000 bar tab.

Mr. Patel, I'm glad.Let me just say in closing, Mr. Chairman, two things.I'm glad that you have agreed to take the test regarding, you know, whether you have alcohol problems.I'm glad you agreed with me to do that.You still haven't answered my final question.Do you know, Mr. Director, that it is a crime to lie to Congress?

Do you know that?

I do not lie to Congress.

I didn't ask you that.And you're insinuating that I am.I asked you whether you know.

You want to correct your time in this session where you got steamrolled by the facts so you can have a Twitter narrative.Mr. Director.I'll raise more money and spend more money on $7 ,000.Just let the record show, Mr. Chairman.And I'm not going to give it to you.

The director of the FBI apparently does not want to answer the question.about whether or not it's a crime to lie to Congress, and I find that extremely troubling.

I find it troubling that you lie to the American people every day.

You are a disgrace, Mr. Director.I'm nearly as big as you.The fact that you can't answer that question, that concludes my question, Mr. Chairman, but I'm obviously very troubled.

That was Senator Chris Van Hollen accusing FBI Director Cash Patel of lying to Congress, considering he decided to use his time under oath to accuse the Democratic senator of something that was patently false, namely that Van Hollen was slinging back taxpayer -funded margaritas with Kilmar Abrego -Garcia in El Salvador.Now, we know that that was false because the El Salvadoran dictator, Bukele, purposefully set up a shot where margaritas were expressly visible so that hacks like Cash Patel could point to that propaganda as evidence malfeasance.But propaganda is all it is.And frankly, I don't know which one is worse here, that the FBI director doesn't know that?or that the FBI director is well aware and yet is making the conscious decision to lie to Americans anyway.But let's take the opportunity to talk about what it was that set Kash Patel off in the first place.

Van Hollen was questioning him about his alleged drinking issues, which were brought to light by a piece in The Atlantic.Atlantic reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick spoke to more than two dozen people, current and former FBI officials, intelligence staff, political operatives, and others, who described Patel as erratic and his behavior as, quote, a national security vulnerability.Fitzpatrick wrote, quote, But it gets worse.and White House officials, members of Patel's security detail had trouble waking him up on multiple occasions because he was, quote, And then there's this detail, which serves as the article's opening anecdote.Patel was locked out of an internal computer system at the FBI on April 10th, which convinced the FBI director that he had been fired by the White House and prompted him to call aides allies in a panic.No, he wasn't fired, he just couldn't log in, but that's the level of paranoia and instability that we're dealing with here.

The Atlantic reported that Patel himself, quote, has expressed that he believes he is about to be fired or that it is imminent, and that there are senior administration officials who are openly discussing who will be the next FBI director.While the latest Jeffrey Epstein documents have exposed corruption at the highest levels of American society, there is an eerie pattern forming.Aggressive enforcement overseas, but silence at home.Where are the arrests?Where are the indictments in the United States?When you look at how legacy media is covering this, it's not hard to see why.

We can't even agree on what's happened, and that's why nothing gets done.And that's exactly why I partnered with Ground News, because they are the best tool for us to see through the partisan reporting fracturing America.to filter for high factuality reporting and tells you whether an outlet is independently owned or backed by a large media conglomerate.In 30 seconds, I get the full picture instead of just some slice.they've ever offered.If you want to support the channel and get a clearer understanding of the world, try out Ground News.

Now, Patel was asked about this previously.Here was his answer.

respond directly to the allegations in the Atlantic article that your unexplained absence has created a national security risk.And beyond that, can you say definitively that you have not been intoxicated or absent during your tenure as FBI director?

I can say unequivocally that I never listen to the fake news mafia.And as when they get louder, it just means I'm doing my job.This FBI director has been on the job twice as many days as every person director before me.What that means is I've taken half as many days off.as those before me.What that means is I've taken a third less vacation than those before me.

What that means is that this FBI with this Department of Justice has dropped the murder rate 20 points.What that means is this FBI with this Department of Justice has captured eight of the top 10 most wanted fugitives in the world, twice as many as the Biden administration did in its entire four years.What that means is this FBI has seized enough fentanyl off the streets to kill 178 million Americans, a 31 % increase.What that means is this FBI and this DOJ has arrested 43 % more spies in 14 months than the entirety of the Biden administration.What that means is this FBI has seen a reduction in opiate overdose deaths up to 20 % alone.What that means is that we have found 6 ,300 child victims.

6 ,300 families have their kids back.That is a 22 % increase from the Biden administration.I'm on the job.I'm the first one in.I'm the last one out.I'm like an everyday American.

who loves his country, loves this sport of hockey, and champions my friends when they raise a gold medal and invite me in to celebrate.I've never been intoxicated on the job, and that is why we filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit, and any one of you that wants to participate, bring it on.I'll see you in court.

Now, I hope that you were listening carefully, because Kash Patel was asked, quote, can you say definitively that you have not been intoxicated or absent during your tenure as FBI director?And he responded by saying, quote,listen to the fake news, that he's taken fewer vacation days than his predecessors, that the murder rate is lower, that they've seized fentanyl, that they've arrested spies, all of which is a lot of words to avoid directly answering the question.Usually when the answer to a damning question is just no, you say no.But Cash did eventually utter the words, quote, I have never been intoxicated on the job.Now to that, I would present this.

So the question becomes, when he's at the Olympics chugging back beers, was he quote, on the job?The FBI director isn't exactly a 9 -to -5 role.If somebody commits a terror attack at 2 o 'clock in the morning on a Sunday, it doesn't matter if Cash is technically off the clock, he is still the only FBI director we have.That's the nature of the position.And as far as intoxication is concerned, does that mean he drank beer?any alcohol?

Does he have to have consumed the legal limit, which is .08?Or does any amount of alcohol suffice as intoxication?These are all questions that differ, I presume, depending on whether you're looking for a legal definition or using common sense.But here's the important part.It may not even matter.Because if this lawsuit does move forward, which it seems like it is, the Atlantic would have the opportunity to take discovery to confirm the accuracy of its reporting, which would include taking sworn testimony not just of Kash Patel, but of others with knowledge of the underlying facts, including, by the way, the two dozen people who spoke to the outlet to form the basis of this story.

In other words, by filing this lawsuit, Kash Patel is potentially opening himself up to sworn deposition, subpoenas, compelled testimony from every single person who knows anything about his behavior.That is a significant gamble for somebody whose entire defense teamis that these stories are just fabricated.Now the reporter that he's suing, Sarah Fitzpatrick, isn't backing down.When confronted with the legal threats, she said simply, The Atlantic called the lawsuit meritless and said they would vigorously defend it.So if Patel's hope here is that he could just chill them into submission, doesn't look like that's working.

So again, we can squabble over legal definitions of intoxication and what it means to be on the clock.But again, that might all be moot if it turns out that there are dozens of people who are capable of saying outright that he was intoxicated by any definition of the term during his tenure as FBI director.But I want to zoom out here because the reality is that the Atlantic will likely have its day in court if the judge doesn't just toss this case out entirely, but it was what Kash Patel did after this that's especially telling.The Atlantic article had dropped on a Friday night.By Sunday morning, Kash Patel was on Fox News with Maria Bartiromo, not just to announce the lawsuit, but to do something much more calculated.

Let me ask you about the mission, because every time I see President Trump, he says this repeatedly that the election was rigged in 2020.I mean, he says it all the time.We all know that.And it's almost getting lost because he says it so much.You've been at the FBI now 14 months.Have you done anything about that?

And do you have anything to tell us about that?

Absolutely, Maria.I've been with the president nearly since day one on this.As I told you earlier, I was the one that led the effort with folks like Trey Gowdy, Johnny Ratcliffe and Devin Nunes to expose the corruption that tried to thwart President Trump's first presidential election run.And we saw the FISA abuses there.And I lived through it.And the media came at me then, too.

That just shows you that when you're over the target, you keep pummeling the target because the media is going to try and pummel you.We are not going to take this and have not taken this laying down.We did already indict former Director Comey.That's going through the judicial process, but we also at this FBI.Even though we uncovered what we uncovered back in the House Intel days, I had to come in here and find rooms that they hid from the world.I had to come in here and find access on our computer systems in restricted and prohibited case files that they purposely put in places for no one to see and find.

We have found all this information.We are working with our Department of Justice partners.And I am never going to let this go because they not only personally attacked the presidency of the United States and President Trump, but they tried to thwart our elections and rig the entire system.And that is not something that is going to stop us.That is not something I'm going to allow on my watch.But you just have to remember, they built this disease temple over 20 and 30 years.

We've got all the evidence.I can announce on your show that we've got all the information we need.We're working with our prosecutors, the Department of Justice, and their Attorney General, Todd Blanche, and we are going to be making arrests.And it's coming, and I promise you, it's coming soon.

I want you to think about that for a second here because the timing is not subtle.ever seen thrown in real time.He's not announcing arrest because there's some real case here, because it's merited or warranted.He's announcing arrest because Donald Trump's number one obsession is the 2020 election.And Patel is waving that obsession around like a flare gun while his career is going down in flames.In other words, when his own job is in trouble, his gut reaction is to use our democracy as a life preserver for himself.

After all, what's sacrificing our democracy so long as Cash Patel can save his own ass?Am I right?So look, this is what happens when you fail one of the most powerful locks in the game.positions in the world based on loyalty rather than competence.The Atlantic's reporting, again sourced to more than two dozen people, describes a director who was drunk at a private club in D .C.

and Las Vegas, who had meetings rescheduled around hangovers, who has a security detail that can't wake him and potentially needed to use SWAT breach equipment, whose leadership has resulted in senior officials inside his own administration openly discussing his replacement while he's still in the job.That is not the profile of a man running the most important law enforcement agency in America.That is the profile of a man who got the job because the president wanted a loyalist, not a director, and whose primary skill set is not leadership, but slavish devotion to one man.So if you're wondering why it feels like so many people are incompetent, that is a feature, not a bug, of this administration.Because competence was never the goal.I mean, hell, if they were actually competent, the last place they would be is in this White House.

But Trump is learning in real time that when you fill your cabinet with clowns, you shouldn't be surprised when it's run like a circus.Before you go, I'm very excited to announce that I've written a new book titled The Day After, How to Wield Power in a Post -Trump World.The book explores what is, in my opinion, the single most important theme that we're dealing with in politics today and moving forward, power.Specifically, how Republicans abuse it and how Democrats refuse to wield it.This book explains how we got here and more importantly, how we should finally wield power if we're lucky enough to get it back.It is the blueprint for progressives who want to do far more than just restore the status quo.

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