After the U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team won a gold medal, the players and coaches celebrated in their locker room. That wasn’t surprising given the circumstances, though there was one unexpected person in the room partying with them. MS NOW reported:
FBI Director Kash Patel, during what his spokesman said was an official trip to Milan for security meetings, was filmed guzzling from a beer bottle and celebrating in the locker room with U.S. Olympic hockey players Sunday after they won the gold-medal game.
Several videos emerged on social media showing Patel in the locker room after the game, but one in particular drew outrage from current and former FBI agents. It depicted Patel pouring what appeared to be beer down his throat, spraying some of it in the air and screaming in celebration as a player put a gold medal around his neck.
At first blush, some might find this unremarkable. The fact that an American hockey fan celebrated with American athletes after a big win is hardly the stuff of a political controversy.
But the details matter.
1. An earlier FBI denial isn’t holding up well. After MS NOW reported last week that Patel was headed to Milan on an FBI jet, at the expense of American taxpayers, to watch the men’s ice hockey team compete, FBI spokesperson Ben Williamson told MS NOW on Thursday that Patel was going to Milan for a series of business meetings and that it was unfair to describe the trip as having to do with hockey or leisure. In fact, he derided the reporting in a tweet.
While the bureau continues to insist that Patel attended some official events in Italy, the videos of Patel partying with the team didn’t exactly bolster Williamson’s denial.
2. Patel is haunted by his recent past. A few years ago, when Patel was known as little more than a conspiratorial media personality, he publicly derided then-FBI Director Christopher Wray for allegedly using an FBI jet for personal reasons. Oops.
3. Isn’t Team Trump supposed to be fixated on preventing wasteful government spending? Not quite a month ago, the White House introduced a new assistant attorney general who would have all of the powers of a special counsel and would focus entirely on uncovering examples of Americans receiving taxpayer-financed benefits to which they were not entitled. Any chance this office could take a closer look at Patel and his use of public resources?
4. Patel appears to have other things to do right now. The New York Times reported that Patel appeared to have a great time while the bureau he ostensibly leads “grappled with multiple, fast-developing crises at home,” adding, “Mr. Patel’s trip to Italy came at a fraught and frenetic time for the bureau and for Mr. Patel.”
5. The FBI director made an existing problem worse. Patel has faced months’ worth of accusations that he’s misused FBI jets for personal reasons. In theory, he’d acknowledge the controversy and curtail his jet-setting habits. In practice, he’s apparently comfortable repeating the same mistake, confident that he’ll get away with it.
6. Patel isn’t doing his reputation any favors. To the extent that the beleaguered FBI director wants to be seen as a serious and sober public official, worthy of broad public trust, he’s failing. In fact, as MS NOW’s latest report noted, “eight former FBI and Justice Department officials sent MS NOW a copy of the video, which they said was drawing outrage as it rocketed around FBI and DOJ circles.”
Perceptions of Patel as an undisciplined and unprofessional FBI chief just got worse.
In 1993, then-FBI Director William Sessions was accused of, among other things, misusing FBI resources for his personal travel. This led then-Attorney General Janet Reno to launch an investigation, which concluded that Sessions had shown “serious deficiencies in judgment.” Bill Clinton fired the director soon after.
There’s no reason to believe Attorney General Pam Bondi or President Donald Trump will take a similar interest in allegations surrounding Patel. That said, the FBI director is supposed to serve a 10-year term, and if a future Democratic president were looking for a reason to show Patel the door, he or she will have plenty to work with.
