Durbin Requests Material From DOD, ODNI, & DOJ Related To Kash Patel, President-Elect Trump's Pick To Lead The FBI

Durbin Requests Material From DOD, ODNI, & DOJ Related To Kash Patel, President-Elect Trump's Pick To Lead The FBI

Durbin's request related to accusations of either misconduct or conspiracy with another official during Mr. Patel's tenure in the Executive Branch as a career civil servant & a political appointee

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sent letters to the Department of Defense (DOD), the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), and the Department of Justice (DOJ) requesting they produce all relevant materials related to Kash Patel's, President-elect Trump's presumptive nominee to be Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), alleged misconduct with respect to those agencies.

Mr. Patel has held several previous roles in the Executive Branch as a career civil servant and a political appointee at DOD, ODNI, DOJ, and the White House National Security Council (NSC). In each role, Mr. Patel has faced accusations of either misconduct or conspiracy with another official during his tenure. These accusations include:

• Impeding the transition between the first Trump Administration and the Biden Administration;
• Politicizing the declassification process to benefit then-President Trump; and
• Working with Jeffrey Clark to identify a "trustworthy" FBI agent to aid Clark's efforts to use DOJ to subvert the 2020 election.

Durbin's letter to DOJ additionally requested records related to any other allegations of misconduct, including criminal referrals from other agencies, during Mr. Patel's time in federal service. Durbin requested specific materials from each agency be provided as soon as possible.

In his letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Durbin wrote, "As you know, the FBI is the principal federal law enforcement investigative agency, tasked with protecting all Americans. The Director must be able to execute the FBI's mission in a nonpartisan, impartial manner that is above reproach. The credible allegations against Mr. Patel outlined above are deeply troubling, and the Committee is unable to properly consider his nomination without more information on his underlying conduct."

Durbin's letter to DOD is available here.

Durbin's letter to ODNI is available here.

Durbin's letter to DOJ is available here.

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