FBI director Kash Patel skewered ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith for suggesting that President Trump was behind the arrests of NBA stars and coaches in an illegal sports betting scheme.
“I’m the FBI director. I decide which arrest to conduct and which not to conduct,” Patel told Fox News host Laura Ingraham on “The Ingraham Angle” Thursday.
“That may be the single dumbest thing I’ve ever heard out of anyone in modern history. And I live most of my time in Washington, DC,” he railed against Smith’s suggestion.
“It’s right up there with Adam Schiff. We arrest people for crimes,” he added.
Patel announced the arrest of over 30 NBA hot shots and mafia family members in a stunning take-down of two separate illegal gambling-related cases Thursday morning.
Smith warned viewers on “First Take” shortly after the arrests to expect more crackdowns under the Trump administration.
“Tell me when we’ve seen that… We’ve seen accusations before. We’ve seen athletes get in trouble with the law before. You don’t see the director of the FBI having a press conference. It’s not coincidental. It’s not an accident. It’s a statement, and it’s a warning that more is coming,” Smith said on-air Thursday.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Smith said without providing any proof. “It’s very concerning. We don’t know where this is gonna go. But everybody better brace themselves, because he’s coming,” the provocative host said in reference to Trump.
He referenced promises to bring Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to Bad Bunny’s planned Super Bowl halftime headline show and listed the WNBA as a possible next target of the administration.
Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, and former NBA player Damon Jones are among those indicted in the historic bust.
Thirty-one people — including members of the Bonanno, Gambino, Genovese and Lucchese mafia families, and coaches and players from the Charlotte Hornets, Portland Trail Blazers, Los Angeles Lakers and Toronto Raptors — have been arrested in the multimillion-dollar scheme, officials said.
The gambling antics netted upwards of $7 million over two years, according to the FBI.
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