U.S. Senator Katie Britt Questions FBI Director Kash Patel on Political Violence, Dobbs Decision Leak, Sextortion, and Violent Crime, in Senate Judiciary Hearing

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.) participated in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing today where she asked Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel a number of questions on the uptick in political violence, the leaking of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision by the Supreme Court, sextortion, and violent crime.

The Senator began her remarks by addressing previous commentsmade by Senator Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) saying, "I want to thank Senator Hirono for what she said, acknowledging that there are physical differences between men and women, talking about that women wouldn't be able to do as many pull-ups [as men]…I think that she was making a case here that there should be different standards.

"There's a thing called Title IX, and this is why we continue to say we should have biological men in men's sports, and biological women in women's sports … so, I look forward to utilizing that to talk to all of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. Maybe they will stand with us in helping us protect women's sports. I think [Sen. Hirono] made a great argument there for it."

Senator Britt then listed several instances of political violence that have occurred over the last year, including the two assassination attempts against President Trump, the murder of two Israeli staffers in Washington, D.C., and, most recently, the assassination of Charlie Kirk last week.

She then highlighted recent words by Vice President JD Vance, when he noted, "If we want to stop political violence, like what happened to Charlie Kirk, we have to be honest about the people who are celebrating it and the people who are financing it."

This led the Senator to ask Director Patel, "What steps is the FBI taking to more aggressively crack down on those who promote, encourage, finance, [and] fund these types of engagements and this type of political violence?"

Director Patel noted how the FBI partners with the Treasury Department to "Trace where the money came from, how these individuals paid for the training they received or the platforms they were using, and also how these individuals collectively got together in whatever groups they were on, on whatever social media sites they were on, to utilize clickbait to make money for their ideology."

Senator Britt encouraged the continuation of this practice, asserting that, "We must get to the bottom of it. We must follow the money." She then asked if Director Patel believed any of the funding was coming from overseas, to which he said he did.

She then asked about the leaking of the Dobbs decision, noting, "I find that absolutely mind boggling, that we can't figure out who leaked that opinion. We know it was done in attempts to undermine the process, and then the intimidation of the (Supreme Court) Justices occurred after that. Tell me what you can do as FBI Director to help us get to the bottom of what happened and actually hold someone accountable for their actions."

Director Patel confirmed that the investigation has been taken over by the FBI and that the Bureau is committed to finding out who was behind the leak.

The Senator then shifted topics, asking Director Patel about what the FBI is doing to fight online sextortion, specifically as it relates to America's youth. She highlighted that, "If this were happening in a store front, Mr. Director, that store would be shut down no matter where it was, coast-to-coast, and yet we continue to allow these things to happen…we've got to have a more targeted approach."

In his response, he discussed several operations to combat sextortion and crimes against children. He pointed out that there have been "About 1,500 child predators arrested, 300 human traffickers arrested, 4,700 children identified and saved, a 35% increase from year-to-date last year alone."

He went on to point out the issue of sextortion specifically: "That is a problem that we are seeing explode on generative AI in private sector and social media companies … They have seen a 1,325% increase in generative AI, leading to sextortion and child sexual abuse that cannot be countermanded by the FBI alone…We need help from social media companies. We need help from the private sector and the internet service providers that allow this generative AI to be hosted on their platforms. We have got to get a resolution on that with our partners in Congress, and the private sector." Senator Britt confirmed her commitment to work with the FBI on a resolution any other potential solutions.

In her last line of questioning, the Senator addressed the issue of crime across the nation and highlighted the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) and its successful interagency partnership - the Metro Area Crime Suppression (MACS) Unit - in Montgomery, pointing out, "They've seen a 30% drop in violent crime and a 19% drop in overall crime. So, it is actually producing results. It's this type of interagency connectivity, that I think ultimately is going to lead us to safer cities and safer streets… I am grateful for the men and women of Alabama in uniform that have made this happen."

She followed up by asking, "How is the FBI working to collaborate in these types of ways, across our country, to make sure that we have even greater success stories to tell?"

Director Patel noted the collaboration happening at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, saying, "In the next few years, we will bring 13,000 students a year through Alabama's Redstone Arsenal. And by students, I mean FBI employees, I mean sheriffs, I mean police chiefs, I mean cops, I mean intel analysts … If you want to see where they have guys going and how we're going to train the future, it's happening at Quantico and Redstone. We are very proud of it."

You can view Senator Britt's full line of questioning here.

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