Kash Patel got slammed Tuesday for complaining that a Democratic senator’s question didn’t include the FBI director’s side of the story—while refusing to provide an answer.
During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Ranking Democrat Dick Durbin asked Patel to explain why he had fired FBI field officers and combat veterans Chris Meyer and Walter Giardina in August, even after Patel was warned that their terminations were unlawful.
“It appears that you terminated these two agents. Why?” asked Durbin.
“I’m not going to get into personnel decisions that we made,” Patel replied.
“So you’re not accountable for your decisions to take people who’ve served our country so admirably, and terminate them without any cause?” Durbin asked.
“That’s a one-sided story,” Patel said.
“So, tell your side of the story,” Durbin interjected, but Patel kept ranting.
“Anyone that has been terminated from the FBI generally speaking failed to meet the needs of the FBI and uphold their constitutional duties, and you providing a one-sided story from your perch is absolutely disgraceful because the men and women of the FBI deserve better,” Patel continued. “And your attack on the current leadership of the men and women of the FBI is equally disgraceful, ’cause now you’re attacking the leaders that are our brave SACs in the field that are doing the job that this county needs, and we will continue to do it.”
“It’s disgraceful when Mr. Meyer and Mr. Giardina, who served our country so well, are terminated apparently because of the rants of a podcaster,” Durbin said.
“That is your opinion, it is not a fact,” Patel retorted.
“Well, it certainly is my opinion I could back up with fact,” Durbin said.
The New York Times reported Tuesday that Meyer had been removed after a pro-Trump influencer had falsely declared him the “main” agent behind the FBI’s raid of Mar-a-Lago that allegedly uncovered a trove of classified documents. But Meyer said he wasn’t assigned to the operation. Senator Chuck Grassley had relayed claims from whistleblowers who accused Giardina of only expressing animosity toward Donald Trump and claimed he had corroborated the infamous Steele dossier. Giardina vehemently denied those accusations and said he never worked on the Steele dossier.
In July, Steven Jensen, the head of the FBI field office in Washington, D.C., urged Patel to shield Giardina, who he felt was being unfairly targeted while his wife was dying from an aggressive form of cancer—but Patel fired him anyway, and then fired Jensen too.
The post Kash Patel Has Mindblowing Defense to FBI Firing Reports appeared first on New Republic.
