A clash on Thursday between Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Kash Patel, the nominee for FBI director, set social media ablaze when conservatives ripped into the new California senator after what they saw as a win for the Trump nominee.
Schiff, in his line of questioning at Patel’s confirmation hearing, began by asking Patel whether he stood by prior testimony that he had nothing to do with the recording of a song about the Jan. 6 Capitol riot inmates.
“[That] is interesting, because here’s what you told Steve Bannon on his podcast: ‘So, what we thought would be cool is if we captured that audio and then, of course, had the greatest president, President Donald J. Trump, recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Then we went to a studio and recorded it, mastered it, digitized it, and put it out as a song.’”
KASH PATEL ENRAGES ADAM SCHIFF IN CLINTONIAN BATTLE OVER THE WORD ‘WE’ AND A JANUARY 6 SONG
The two quibbled over the meaning of “we” and whether it included Patel.
Kash Patel, President Donald Trump’s choice to be director of the FBI, appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing at the Capitol in Washington Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
“Yeah, and you’re part of that ‘we’ — right — when you say ‘we,’ that includes you, Mr. Patel,” Schiff said.
“Not in every instance.” Patel said, adding he had not personally participated in the recording or mastering of the single.
Schiff responded, “Well, that’s new. So, when you said ‘we,’ you didn’t really mean you. Is that your testimony?”
“Not unless you have a new definition for the word ‘we,’” Patel said.
In Thursday’s hearing, however, Patel said he was using the word “we” appropriately, while Schiff said he had “promoted the hell out of it,” referencing the inmates’ single.
“I don’t know what that means, but I promoted the heck out of raising money for families in need,” Patel shot back.
In another exchange, Schiff asked Patel if an FBI director promoted a song about people who sprayed pepper spray in the face of an FBI agent, “would you say they were fit to be director?”
“I am fit to be the director of the FBI,” Patel said.
Supporters of the Trump administration hammered Schiff and praised Patel over the exchanges.
U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., a Democratic Senate candidate, speaks during a Get Out The Vote meet and greet at IATSE Local 80 March 4, 2024, in Burbank, Calif. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
MAJOR CHANGES PATEL COULD MAKE ON DAY 1 AT FBI
“California’s Senator @SenAdamSchiff screams and screeches about the January 6th choir during Kash’s confirmation – and completely misses an opportunity to represent commonsense Californians,” former DNI Director Richard Grenell posted on X. “We want representatives who don’t lie. Who don’t miss the big picture. Schiff is partisan and petty.”
National Review contributor Pradheep Shanker said “any committee that [Sen. Mazie] Hirono, Schiff or [Sen. Sheldon] Whitehouse is on is one where Democrats completely lose all credibility.”
“I honestly thought Bernie Sanders yelling at RFK Jr. about onesies was going to be the craziest thing from the hearings this week,” Daily Signal columnist Tony Kinnett said. “Then I watched Adam Schiff yelling at Kash Patel for 5 minutes about song remixes. Good Lord.”
“Schiff can’t be trusted to serve on committees,” Judicial Watch Chairman Tom Fitton said.
Schiff argued he had won the exchange.
“Kash Patel raised money for January 6 insurrectionists who attacked law enforcement. I asked him to look those officers in the eye and tell them he was proud of what he did. He couldn’t,” Schiff wrote on X.
It was one of a number of fiery exchanges during the hearing. Democrats quizzed Patel about his record, including statements he had made in his book, “Government Gangsters.”
Patel slammed what he described as “grotesque” attacks against him.
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“If the best attacks on me are going to be false accusations and grotesque mischaracterizations, the only thing this body is doing is defeating the credibility of the men and women at the FBI,” he said.
“I stood with them here in this country, in every theater of war we have. I was on the ground in service of this nation. And any accusations leveled against me that I would somehow put political bias before the Constitution are grotesquely unfair.”
