Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel left MAGA social circles fuming on Thursday after he flatly shot down a long-held Jeffrey Epstein conspiracy theory.
During a televised Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Republican Sen. John Kennedy asked Patel, “Did Jeffrey Epstein hang himself or did somebody kill him?”
A defeated looking Patel answered, “Senator I believe he hung himself in a cell in the Metropolitan Detention Center.”
His answer put the kibosh on a MAGA conspiracy theory alleging Epstein’s suicide was actually a murder. Patel’s answer also went against his image as a noted conspiracy theorist and previous promises to reveal the truth in the “Epstein files.”
MAGA was left disappointed on both accounts in February after the DOJ released unremarkable binders of redacted material on the FBI’s Epstein investigation. MAGA has demanded more information on the investigation be released—all of the information.
“Are you going to release all the information about that?” asked Kennedy.
Patel responded, “Senator we are working through that right now with the Department of Justice.” As for when he would have it done, Patel added, “In the near future.”
Kennedy quipped, “Like before I die?”
Patel explained, “We’re doing it in a way that protects victims and also doesn’t put out into the ether information that is irrelevant.”
However, MAGA remained unconvinced and angry.
“What is going on with @FBIDirectorKash; has he been compromised by the intelligence agencies? Do you remember seen Ehud Barak entering Epstein house in NYC?” wrote one MAGA following X user.
What is going on with @FBIDirectorKash ; has he been compromised by the intelligence agencies? Do you remember seen Ehud Barak entering Epstein house in NYC? https://t.co/Uqw6xgrHhI
— JohnWick-GUA (@Johnwick_ca) May 8, 2025
“Truth seeker” Ryan Matta wrote in a tweet, “Kash Patel is cooked.”
Another fellow truth seeker by the name of Adam commented on X, “Remember when Kash Patel called for a 24/7 declassification office? Now he won’t even lift a finger get us the Epstein files.”
Remember when Kash Patel called for a 24/7 declassification office? Now he won’t even lift a finger get us the Epstein files. As he said “We will make sure we stand by our number one ally, which is Israel.”pic.twitter.com/Pz9Tw3R7KT
— ADAM (@AdameMedia) March 26, 2025
Yet that wasn’t the only time Patel seemed to absolutely step in it during the budget meeting. He was left bumbling like a student without his homework completed as one Democratic senator took him to task for showing up for the budget meeting without an actual budget.
“Director Patel, where is the FY 2026 budget request for the FBI?” asked Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Patel answered, “Uhh, it’s being worked on, ma’am.”
Murray pressed, “Have you reviewed it? Have you approved it?”
Patel replied, “Uhh, not yet,” before blaming the budget’s delay on “interagency partners.” As it turned out, Patel—whom President Donald Trump appointed to the post in February—couldn’t even offer a timeline for when he could turn in his budget request.
“I’m doing the best I can,” Patel told Murray.
Sounding every bit like a disappointed teacher, Murray said Patel’s “best” was “insufficient and deeply disturbing.”
Kash Patel, the conspiracy theorist that Republicans made FBI Director, came to a Senate hearing on the budget—with NO budget, NO timeline, and NO clue.It’s downright incompetent, and it’s making America less safe.We need serious leadership at the FBI. https://t.co/8qUl43gHPg
— Senator Patty Murray (@PattyMurray) May 8, 2025
Murray added, “We’re now having a budget hearing without a budget request,” suggesting that Patel was refusing to follow the law.
During that same meeting, Patel was also hammered over his understanding of the Fifth Amendment as Democrat Sen. Jeff Merkley demanded to know why he was not investigating immigrants who had been “swept off the streets of America and sent to El Salvador without due process.”
Merkley questioned, “And you’re familiar that that applies to all persons in the United States?”
Patel is likely behind on submitting the FBI’s budget request due to a clash with the Trump administration’s 2026 budget proposal, which called for more than $500 million in cuts to the bureau, Bloomberg reported.
At a House hearing on Wednesday, Patel told lawmakers that the FBI would “need more than what has been proposed in [the Trump administration’s] budget.”
But by Thursday, he had changed his tune, telling the Senate appropriations committee he would “make the mission work on whatever budget we’re given,” Reuters reported.
Patel’s apparent lack of preparation for the hearing is sure to hand more ammunition to critics who say the former DoJ official and staunch Trump loyalist is in over his head as FBI director.
The post MAGA Rages as Kash Patel Rejects Epstein Conspiracy Theory appeared first on The Daily Beast.
