Kash Patel appears at FBI director confirmation hearing

President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as the director of the FBI, Kash Patel, appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday. Patel told senators in his opening statement that he was honored to be considered for the position of FBI director. He recalled how he represented people who committed heinous acts while he was working as a public defender early on in his legal career. But the experience taught him how important it was to apply due process equally to all people, he said.

Patel said his commitment to justice, fairness, and the rule of law ran in his family. Those values shaped his career in public service over 16 years. He noted that, currently, only 40 percent of people trusted the FBI. Two steps needed to be taken to restore a higher level of public trust, Patel said. The first was to let police officers do their jobs in tackling violent crime, and the second was to be fully transparent about law enforcement actions.

What did Senators have to say about Patel? Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, on Thursday discussed in his opening statement how public trust in federal law enforcement agencies had plummeted. Grassley praised an investigation Patel led which found no collusion between Russia and Donald Trump’s first presidential campaign.

Committee Ranking Member Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., criticized prior statements in which he said Patel called many U.S. officials “government gangsters” who were working to advance the interests of a deep state. Durbin also critiqued prior comments Patel allegedly made referring to the Capitol riots of Jan. 6, 2021 as the result of an inside job by government officials.