Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the committee that Durbin leads.
Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.), the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, asked a suite of agencies that previously employed Kash Patel to turn over information on possible misconduct of President-elect Trump’s controversial pick to lead the FBI.
The letters lay out a series of allegations, including that Patel pushed to stop transition coordination with the incoming Biden administration, sought to declassify information that would be favorable to Trump, and was identified as a helpful figure for the man leading Trump’s efforts to thwart the transfer of power after losing the 2020 election.
“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 wrote in letters to the Justice Department, Department of Defense, and Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).
Collectively, the letters pull together years of reporting on controversies trailing Patel.
One letter points to reporting from Bloomberg showing that Patel coordinated efforts with officials at the White House and Department of Justice, as well as Republican lawmakers, to declassify documents he saw as being favorable to Trump.
That includes dispositions of interviews with former Obama-era officials who were involved in the investigation into Trump’s ties to Russia.
Durbin’s letter indicates Patel may have made an improper disclosure of classified information in the process, noting the Justice Department reportedly received a complaint from an intelligence agency about one of his disclosures.
The letter to the Justice Department also notes that then-Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, now Trump’s nominee to lead the CIA, apparently identified Patel as someone who could find a “trustworthy” figure to coordinate with Jeffrey Clark, a former DOJ official who worked to forward Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud about the 2020 election.
That detail comes from notes from Clark obtained by the committee.
The request asks for all information at the DOJ and ODNI about Patel’s declassification efforts, his contacts with Ratcliffe, and any investigations into improperly releasing classified information.
One letter also points to prior reporting indicating Patel may have worked to stall transition efforts at the Pentagon.
“During his tenure, Mr. Patel was accused of impeding the incoming Biden Administration’s transition work with the Defense Department, injecting himself and another political appointee into processes normally handled by nonpartisan career civilian and military officials, and ignoring requests from the Biden Administration’s transition team,” Durbin wrote.
The Trump team said Patel would be happy to respond when he has his confirmation hearing.
“Kash is proud of his service at the DOJ, DOD, and DNI, and looks forward to answering any of Senator Durbin’s questions at his confirmation hearing,” said Alex Pfeiffer, a Trump spokesperson.
Patel’s confirmation hearing has not yet been scheduled, but he was a frequent topic of conversation during the hearing for Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department, Pam Bondi.
Many lawmakers pointed to Patel’s list of “government gangsters” included in his book of the same name, a list of figures he has previously said must be held accountable.
And as a former House Intelligence Committee staffer, he was a top aide in pushing back against the investigation into Trump’s campaign, a topic that inspired a children’s book he has also written.
Asked how she would respond if Patel sought to ignite investigations into Trump adversaries, Bondi insisted he would follow the law.
“If he is confirmed, and if I am confirmed — he will follow the law if I am the attorney general of the United States of America. And I don’t believe he would do anything otherwise,” Bondi said Wednesday.
Updated at 11:11 a.m. EST Jan. 17.
