Durbin Grills Director Patel On Record Of Failed Leadership At FBI In Senate Judiciary Committee Oversight Hearing

Durbin Grills Director Patel On Record Of Failed Leadership At FBI In Senate Judiciary Committee Oversight Hearing

During the hearing, Director Patel deflected Durbin's questions by denying that federal agents shot Chicagoan Marimar Martinez; refusing to comment on whether there are investigations into fraud perpetrated by Trump Admin officials; and misrepresenting the change in FBI hiring standards

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, questioned Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel in today's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing conducting oversight of the FBI. During the hearing, Durbin grilled Director Patel on the Trump Administration's destructive and violent immigration enforcement campaigns; the gutting of FBI hiring standards; his role in covering up the Epstein files; and the perpetration of rampant corruption and fraud within the Trump Administration.

Durbin began by pressing Director Patel about his failure to acknowledge that federal agents acted inappropriately during Operation Midway Blitz and Operation Metro Surge, in which multiple U.S. citizens were shot or killed by federal agents. Rather than follow protocol, Director Patel dismissed the incidents and refused to properly open a federal civil rights investigation.

"One year ago, my home state of Illinois was experiencing the beginning of a ruthless, reckless, deadly campaign orchestrated by this Administration known as 'Midway Blitz.' Masked federal agents armed with military grade weapons and unmarked vehicles descended on Chicago and other communities, bashing in car windows, indiscriminately rounding up people, deploying chemical agents, and shooting innocent people," Durbin began. "A border patrol agent shot U.S. citizen and Chicago native Marimar Martinez five times after sideswiping her vehicle. She survived. After Ms. Martinez was shot, DHS [U.S. Department of Homeland Security] branded her as a domestic terrorist. A border patrol agent bragged about shooting her. And an FBI agent falsely claimed she chased a border patrol agent before she was shot."

"Director Patel, after the shooting, you took to social media, posted a video of a different collision, that you said supported DHS. He [Patel] said, 'Attack our law enforcement and this FBI will find you and bring you to justice.' DHS and FBI have since refused to correct the record. [DOJ dropped] charges against Ms. Martinez, who was shot five times by these agents," Durbin said.

"In another event, an ICE agent shot and killed Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez shortly after he dropped his children off at school and daycare. Publicly released video footage and the ICE agent's own statement contradict DHS claims that the ICE agent who shot him was 'dragged a significant distance' and 'feared for his life.' In the past, the FBI would have swiftly responded to these shootings, gathering evidence and working with the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division to conduct a civil rights investigation. But not now," Durbin continued.

"Director Patel, why has the FBI refused to investigate either of these shootings?" Durbin pressed.

Director Patel asserted that the incidents are under investigation. However, the FBI has provided no information about civil rights investigations in either case.

"Do you still stand behind the false statements you made on social media after Marimar Martinez was shot?" Durbin replied.

Director Patel deflected, offering a flimsy explanation that his statements were "clipped together to make it sound like I lied."

Pushing back on the claims Director Patel made on social media, which he emphasized that he stands by, Durbin responded, "Let me quote what you said: 'Attack our law enforcement and the FBI will find you and bring you to justice.' Were you bringing her to justice by shooting her five times?"

"We didn't shoot her," Director Patel claimed despite body camera footage from the incident and text messages from the federal immigration agent who shot Ms. Martinez making clear that she was shot five times by the federal agent.

"The federal government did, and you are responsible for determining whether there was any violation of federal rights statutes, and you refuse to do so. Unfortunately giving a blank slate to these agents is not an encouragement for good conduct, and you know that as well as I do," Durbin said.

Durbin then questioned Director Patel about the FBI's recent decision to gut hiring standards. In June, the FBI reportedly revised their hiring policy to remove theft from an employer, sex solicitation, and bestiality from the list of automatic hiring disqualifications; however, some of these changes may have been quietly implemented as early as February 2025. Yesterday, Durbin led all Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats in demanding a justification for the degradation of hiring standards, emphasizing that hiring candidates with a history of this conduct makes federal agencies more vulnerable to black mail or counterintelligence exposure.

"According to a memo issued this June, the FBI has lowered its hiring standards by dropping automatic disqualification for applicants who have stolen from prior employers, paid for sex, or engaged in bestiality. In July, you claimed the FBI is 'losing too many qualified candidates to the rigors and requirements from yesteryear.' Director Patel, do you believe those who have previously stolen from employers, solicited sex, or engaged in bestiality are qualified candidates the FBI is losing?" Durbin asked.

Director Patel misrepresented the change in hiring standards, arguing that the change was to prevent victims of these acts from being automatically disqualified. Further hedging his track record of purging career FBI officials, Director Patel offered statistics about a recent uptick in hiring; however, Director Patel has purged more than 5,000 nonpartisan career personnel from the agency, including all six former Executive Assistant Directors and at least 18 Special Agents in Charge with little to no explanation.

"What I'm reading to you is that you dropped automatic disqualification for applicants who have been engaged in bestiality. Not victims of bestiality-applicants who have engaged," Durbin said.

Durbin then grilled Director Patel on his direct involvement in covering up the Epstein files.

"On the Epstein files, do you believe the files contain no meaningful evidence of wrongdoing by others who have not been charged so far?" Durbin asked.

Rather than answer Durbin's question, Director Patel spoke about the number of pages released of the Epstein files. Notably, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Inspector General (OIG) has launched a probe into whether the DOJ properly complied with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, as many of the documents were not released on the timeline laid out by the law.

"He just missed one important point. You may remember it. Congress had to pass a law requiring the disclosure of the Epstein files. We had to wait until a woman was elected to Congress to give us the necessary votes in the House to discharge the bill and force a vote in the House on the release of the Epstein files. This was not volunteered by the Trump Administration. It took a law to force them to do it," Durbin said.

Durbin concluded by questioning Director Patel about the blatant corruption committed by Trump Administration officials without consequence.

"You've touted the Trump Administration and FBI success in cracking down on fraud and corruption. In a press conference in June, you stated, 'You should take a look at what leadership from the White House and President Trump's prioritization to go after and combat fraud looks like. Fraud is no longer being tolerated. It's not being put up with,'" Durbin said.

"Recent reports, Mr. Patel, have revealed that Corey Lewandowski, while he was at the Department of Homeland Security, approached senior officials from Qatar and UAE, offering to represent them on the side [on] issues that fell under DHS purview. Director Patel, was the FBI aware of Corey Lewandowski's efforts to sell access to government services for personal gain before this report was published?" Durbin asked.

Director Patel denied knowledge of Mr. Lewandowski's actions.

"Has the FBI initiated any investigation into these allegations regarding Mr. Lewandowski?" Durbin pushed further.

Director Patel deflected the question, asserting that this falls under DHS' purview.

"You can't say that the FBI has done any investigation into this allegation?" Durbin replied.

"I will not comment on that," Director Patel answered.

Video of Durbin's questions in Committee is available here.

Audio of Durbin's questions in Committee is available here.

Footage of Durbin's questions in Committee is available here for TV Stations.

-30-