US Politics
Kash Patel doubles down over claims he’s used FBI plane for ‘joyrides’ with girlfriend: ‘I’m entitled to a personal life’
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FBI Director Kash Patel has responded to claims that he used government jets for “personal joyrides” with his girlfriend, arguing that his travel has actually saved taxpayer money, while maintaining that he’s “entitled to a personal life.”
Patel was questioned by Fox News’ Laura Ingraham on Tuesday evening about a congressional probe into the FBI director over his use of the bureau’s jet.
In a letter released Monday, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee said they are demanding answers after reports emerged that Patel used the aircraft for a “date night” with his girlfriend — country singer Alexis Wilkins — as well as for a luxury hunting trip in Texas and a golfing getaway in Scotland.
“They’re claiming you ‘commandeered’ [the jet] ‘for personal joyrides,’” Ingraham said. “Is that true?”
“It’s simple,” Patel said. “The FBI director — all FBI directors — are required users of the FBI plane. They don’t let me fly commercially. But my predecessors wasted millions of dollars because they were too lazy to drive an extra 20 minutes and go to Andrews Air Force Base. They used D.C. Reagan National as a personal hub, costing the taxpayers $4 million. I shut that policy off and mandated the use of government airfields.”
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Patel, a former public defender and DOJ prosecutor, added that he is allowed to have a life outside of his professional obligations.
“I’ve also used the airplane less than my prior two predecessors,” he said. “And, yes, I’m entitled to a personal life just like my other agency counterparts with their partners. Do I support my girlfriend? Absolutely. And I do take trips with her? Absolutely.”
Ingraham also asked Patel about a new report from The New York Post that detailed unflattering characterizations of the director from two dozen former or current FBI employees.
The 115-page report — assembled for Congress — describes the bureau under Patel as a “rudderless ship” and “all f***ed up.” One source, a self-identified supporter of President Donald Trump, said Patel “lacks the requisite experience” and is “not very good.”
“I assume that these are just bitter deep staters,” Ingraham said. “But what is your general reaction to these concerns raised about the state of the FBI, 10 months into the Trump administration, part two?”
“Yeah look, anonymous sources always lie, results don’t,” Patel said, before going on to describe the FBI under his leadership as “the most successful in history.”
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The NYP’s report and the Democratic-led investigation are just the latest of several controversies to dog Patel throughout his tenure as leader of the nation’s largest law enforcement agency.
Since January, Patel has faced criticism for the bureau’s handling of the investigation into Charlie Kirk’s assassination, his dismissal of dozens of subordinates and the assignment of a government security detail to Wilkins.
Patel has brushed off negative media coverage, calling a NovemberWall Street Journal report “hot garbage.”
The White House has taken the same line. A Trump spokesperson previously told The Independent that Patel is “doing an excellent job.” And, in late November, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt refuted a report from MS NOW that Trump was considering firing Patel.
“This story is completely made up,” Leavitt wrote on X.
She said that, when the news broke, she happened to be in the middle of an Oval Office meeting with the president and Patel.
“I read the headline to the President and he laughed,” she wrote. “He said: ‘What? That’s totally false’.”
