Happy New Year 2025

Tag: Patel

Kash Patel vows to ‘do everything’ to help GOP senator expose Epstein files

Kash Patel, President Donald Trump’s pick to head the FBI, pledged Thursday to work with a top Republican senator on exposing who worked with Jeffrey Epstein in trafficking and exploiting children.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., quizzed Patel about how he would handle the Epstein case. The sex-trafficking financier died in 2019 while awaiting trial. Nearly 200 names that had previously been redacted from court documents in a lawsuit against his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell were made public last year.

However, Blackburn said there is still more to be known, including the names of those who flew on his plane and accomplices.

KASH PATEL FLIPS SCRIPT ON DEM SENATOR AFTER BEING GRILLED ON J6 PARDONS: ‘BRUTAL REALITY CHECK’

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., questions Kash Patel, President Donald Trump’s choice to be director of the FBI, during Patel’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

“I want to talk to you about the Epstein case. I have worked on this for years trying to get those records of who flew on Epstein’s plane and who helped him build this international human trafficking sex trafficking ring,” she said.

She used her remarks to take a jab at former Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin.

“Now, earlier, I urged then Chairman Durbin to subpoena those records, and I ended up being blocked by Senator Durbin and Christopher Wray. They stonewalled on this,” she said. “And I know that breaking up these trafficking rings is important to President Trump. So will you work with me on this issue? So we know who worked with Jeffrey Epstein in building these sex trafficking rings?” she asked.

KASH PATEL HAMMERS ‘GROTESQUE MISCHARACTERIZATIONS’ FROM DEMS AMID FIERY FBI CONFIRMATION HEARING

Jeffrey Epstein mugshot from 2019 after federal authorities filed trafficking charges against him. (Kypros/Getty Images)

“Absolutely, Senator,” Patel responded. “Child sex trafficking has no place in the United States of America. And I will do everything, if confirmed as FBI director, to make sure the American public knows the full weight of what happened in the past and how we are going to counterman missing children and exploited children going forward,” he said.

Following the exchange between Blackburn and Patel, Durbin requested to respond to Blackburn’s jab at him and accused the Tennessee senator of “falsely” accusing him “of preventing releasing the names of Jeffrey Epstein’s network.”

“My office subsequently reached out to hers to try to identify what records she was actually seeking. We did not receive a response,” he added.

Blackburn fired back and said she had “raised the issue with Chairman Durbin. I had raised it on the floor that we wanted to get these records… You sought not to recognize me.”

Patel’s nomination has sparked early criticism from some Democrats ahead of his confirmation hearing, who have cited his previous vows to prosecute journalists and career officials at the Justice Department and FBI that he sees as being part of the “deep state.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Democrats had pointed to Patel’s record and a book, “Government Gangsters,” released in 2023 that claimed that “deep state” government employees have politicized and weaponized the law enforcement agency – and explicitly called for the revamp of the FBI in a chapter dubbed “Overhauling the FBI.”

Fox News’ Emma Colton and Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.

Adam Shaw is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital, primarily covering immigration and border security.

He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter.

January 30, 2025
Kash Patel enrages Adam Schiff in Clintonian battle over the word ‘we’ and a January 6 song

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., clashed with FBI director nominee Kash Patel during his confirmation hearing on Thursday, particularly over a recording of a song released by Capitol Riot inmates.

Schiff began by asking Patel if he stood by prior testimony that he had nothing to do with the recording of the song, which the Democrat said featured President Donald Trump reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

“[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’.”

Schiff asked Patel why he told Bannon that.

“That’s why it says ‘we’ as you highlighted,” Patel incredulously shot back.

FLASHBACK: SCHIFF, WHO REPEATEDLY CLAIMED EVIDENCE OF RUSSIAN COLLUSION, DENOUNCES DURHAM REPORT AS ‘FLAWED’

“Yeah, and you’re part of that ‘we’ – right – when you say ‘we’ that includes you, Mr. Patel,” Schiff angrily replied.

“Not in every instance.” Patel said, adding he did not personally partake in the recording or mastering of the single.

Schiff was undeterred: “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.

Notably, in August 1997, President Bill Clinton was pressed on his sexual relations with intern Monica Lewinsky, and responded with a similar tenor as to which usage of the word “is” was being invoked during grand jury testimony.

MAJOR CHANGES PATEL COULD MAKE ON DAY 1 AT FBI

“It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is. If the—if he—if ‘is’ means is and never has been, that is not—that is one thing. If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement,” Clinton said.

In Thursday’s hearing, however, Patel said he was using the word “we” appropriately, while Schiff said he “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.

Schiff then asked Patel to turn around and address the police officers in the room, claiming the inmates on the recording he purportedly promoted had assaulted them or their colleagues on January 6, 2021.

“I’m looking at you. You’re talking to me,” Patel sternly replied.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

When Schiff asked Patel to “tell them how proud you are” to see Trump pardon all such inmates, Patel said it was “an abject lie – and you know it.”

“I’ve never, never, ever accepted violence against law enforcement. I’ve worked with these men and women, as you know, you my entire life.”

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.

He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.

Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to [email protected].

January 30, 2025
Kash Patel vows to end Biden-era ‘targeting’ of Christians: ‘Sacred trust’

President Trump’s FBI director nominee Kash Patel pledged in his confirmation to end the “targeting” of Americans by the government specifically as it relates to citizens who were in the crosshairs of the Biden administration for religious reasons.

“Is it appropriate for the Federal Bureau of Investigation to attempt to recruit spies or informants into religious institutions in this country, particularly Catholic parishes?” GOP Sen. Josh Hawley asked Patel in his confirmation hearing on Thursday.

Patel responded, “I don’t believe so, senator.”

“Mr. Patel, are you familiar with the recent actions of the FBI in this regard, including this memo that I have right here making a list of Catholic churches and parishes that they regard as potentially suspect and directing the potential recruitment of informants and other spies, let’s be honest, into those parishes,” Hawley asked.

GRAHAM GRILLS FBI NOMINEE PATEL OVER ‘DISGUSTING’ AND ‘CORRUPT’ CROSSFIRE HURRICANE PROBE

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))

Patel told Hawley is familiar with the memo leading the Missouri Republican into his next question.

“Mr. Patel, would you commit to me that you will, if you are confirmed, that you will finally and officially withdraw this memo and make it clear that this is not only unacceptable, but that it is an absolute violation of the First Amendment, that every American voice under the Constitution of the United States,” Hawley asked.

“If I’m confirmed, Senator, yes,” Patel said back.

KASH PATEL FLIPS SCRIPT ON DEM SENATOR AFTER BEING GRILLED ON J6 PARDONS: ‘BRUTAL REALITY CHECK’

WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 28: Sen. Josh Hawley. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“Will you also commit to me that you will conduct an investigation and find out who wrote this memo, who spread this memo?” Hawley asked. “The field offices involved in this memo, because I can tell you, we’ve had your predecessor sit right where you’re sitting. And he has repeatedly, repeatedly lied, there’s no other word for it, lied to this committee. He told us initially that it didn’t happen, that the FBI didn’t make any list of churches. That’s not true. We have it. A whistleblower brought forward the list for us.”

“He said then that only one field office had worked on, it turns out we know from another whistleblower, multiple field offices worked on it, worked on it. He said that it was never posted on the internal system. It turns out it was. We believe it’s still in effect. Will you find out who was involved in this gross abuse of Americans First Amendment rights? And will you discipline them? And if you possibly can, will you fire them? Mr. Patel, consistent with Department policy and law?“

Patel told Hawley that the senator has his “commitment” to “investigate any matters such as this” that “are important to Congress.”

President-elect Donald Trump has named longtime ally Kashyap “Kash” Patel, who has been a frequent and harsh critic of the FBI, to serve as the bureau’s next director in the new administration. (Reuters)

“I will fully utilize, if confirmed, the investigative powers of the FBI to give you the information you require, and also to hold those accountable who violated the sacred trust placed in them at the FBI,” Patel told Hawley.

Hawley responded, “I’m glad to use the word sacred trust, because that’s exactly what it is. The FBI’s the most powerful law enforcement body in this nation, arguably the most powerful law enforcement body, at least in a free nation in the world and to have this body corrupted politically such that it is targeting people of faith in this country and then lying about it to this committee and the American people is unimaginable.”

“I’ll be honest with you, I never thought this would happen in the United States of America, I just didn’t. If you had told me five years ago we’d be reading memos like this, I would have said, no way, no way. That’s bad fiction. In fact, it’s a horrible reality. The department needs to be cleaned up.”

The exchanges comes on the heels of Trump’s recent announcement that he would pardon pro-life activists convicted under the FACE Act during President Joe Biden’s administration.

A side-by-side of Kash Patel and President Donald Trump. (Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The pardons, first reported by The Daily Wire, would apply to activists convicted of protesting near abortion clinics during various demonstrations. The details and scope of the pardons have yet to be revealed.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, has also introduced legislation that would dismantle the FACE Act. Many lawmakers have argued that Democratic administrations have weaponized it against pro-life groups and Christians.

Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report

Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to [email protected].

January 30, 2025
Kash Patel hammers ‘grotesque mischaracterizations’ from Dems amid fiery FBI confirmation hearing

Kash Patel, Trump’s nominee to lead the FBI, ripped into “false accusations and grotesque mischaracterizations” from Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee at his confirmation hearing on Thursday.

Patel, a former public defender and DOJ official, was grilled by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who accused Patel of having called for FBI headquarters to be shut down. That came on the back of a number of barbs coming from Democrats on the Committee.

Patel fired back with a fiery response.

SPARKS EXPECTED TO FLY AT KASH PATEL’S CONFIRMATION HEARING TO LEAD FBI

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.

“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,” he said.

He then pointed to an endorsement by over 300,000 law enforcement officers to be the next head of the bureau.

“Let’s ask them,” he said.

Democrats had pointed to Patel’s record and a book, “Government Gangsters,” released in 2023 that claimed that “deep state” government employees have politicized and weaponized the law enforcement agency – and explicitly called for the revamp of the FBI in a chapter dubbed “Overhauling the FBI.”

WHO IS KASH PATEL? TRUMP’S PICK TO LEAD THE FBI HAS LONG HISTORY VOWING TO BUST UP ‘DEEP STATE’

President-elect Donald Trump has named longtime ally Kashyap “Kash” Patel, who has been a frequent and harsh critic of the FBI, to serve as the bureau’s next director in the new administration. (Reuters)

“Things are bad. There’s no denying it,” he wrote in the book. “The FBI has gravely abused its power, threatening not only the rule of law, but the very foundations of self-government at the root of our democracy. But this isn’t the end of the story. Change is possible at the FBI and desperately needed.”

Patel received praise from Republicans on the Committee, with Chairman Chuck Grassley arguing he could help restore trust in the FBI.

“Public trust in the FBI is low,” Grassley said in his opening remarks. “Only 41% of the American public thinks the FBI is doing a good job. This is the lowest rating in a century.”

FORMER TRUMP OFFICIALS REJECT WHISTLEBLOWER CLAIM THAT FBI DIRECTOR NOMINEE KASH PATEL BROKE HOSTAGE PROTOCOL

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-RI, however, cited several Republican figures who have opposed Patel’s nomination, including former National Security Advisor John Bolton who he said had claimed was “forced to hire him.”

“Former CIA director Gina Haspel was reportedly threatening to resign rather than have this nominee serve under her,” Whitehouse said.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Former Attorney General Bill Barr said this nominee has virtually no experience that would qualify him to serve at the highest level of the world’s preeminent law enforcement agency, end quote.”

Patel later accused Whitehouse of using “partial quotations” in further criticisms about alleged intentions to “prosecute journalists” and his so-called ‘enemies list’ – a term Patel said he does not endorse.

Fox News’ Charles Creitz and Emma Colton contributed to this report.

Adam Shaw is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital, primarily covering immigration and border security.

He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter.

January 30, 2025
Kash Patel flips script on Dem senator after being grilled on J6 pardons: ‘Brutal reality check’

Kash Patel, President Trump’s nominee to lead the Federal Bureau of Investigation, pushed back in his confirmation hearing after he was grilled on the president’s pardoning of January 6 rioters.

“So do you think that America is safer because the 1600 people have been given an opportunity to come out of serving their sentences and live in our communities again?” Dem. Sen. Dick Durbin asked Patel in Thursday’s hearing, pressing him on January 6 rioters who assaulted police officers having their sentences commuted earlier this month.

Patel responded with a reference to Biden’s decision in the final hours of his presidency to free Leonard Peltier, a far-left activist convicted in the 1975 murders of two FBI special agents, Ronald Williams and Jack Coler, who were gunned down in a shootout in South Dakota.

“Senator, I have not looked at all 1600 individual cases,” Patel said.

DOZENS OF FORMER FBI AGENTS RALLY AROUND KASH PATEL’S CONFIRMATION: ‘LIVES HAVE BEEN SHATTERED’

Dem Sen. Dick Durbin (Left) and FBI Director nominee Kash Patel (Right) (AP/Reuters)

“I have always advocated for imprisoning those that cause harm to our law enforcement and civilian communities. I also believe America is not safer because President Biden’s commutation of a man who murdered two FBI agents. Agent Coler and Williams family deserve better than to have the man that point blank range fired a shotgun into their heads and murdered them, released from prison. So it goes both ways.”

Durbin responded by downplaying the comparison between Peltier and January 6 rioters.

MAJOR FBI CHANGES KASH PATEL COULD MAKE ON DAY 1 IF CONFIRMED AS DIRECTOR

Committee chairman Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., speaks during a hearing of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

“Leonard Peltier was in prison for 45 years,” Durbin responded. “He’s 80 years old, and he was sentenced to home confinement. So he’s not free. As you might have just suggested. He killed two FBI agents. That he did, and he went to prison for it and should have. My question to you, though, is, do you think America’s safer because President Trump issued these pardons to 1600 of these criminal defendants, many of whom violently assaulted our police in capital?”

Patel responded, “Senator, America will be safe when we don’t have 200,000 drug overdoses in two years, America will be safe when we don’t have 50 homicides a day.”

Kash Patel, a former chief of staff to then-acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller, speaks during a campaign event for Republican election candidates (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Conservatives and supporters of Patel on social media praised Patel for his response.

“Brutal reality check,” political commentator and Confirm 47 executive director Camryn Kinsey posted on X.

In his opening remarks, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley said, “Public trust in the FBI is low.”

“Only 41% of the American public thinks the FBI is doing a good job. This is the lowest rating in a century,” he continued.

Grassley touted Patel’s experience as a public defender and at the Justice Department, as well as his involvement in the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in 2017 to investigate the origins of the Trump-Russia probe.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Patel has “managed large intelligence and defense bureaucracies, identified and countered national security threats, prosecuted and defended criminals,” Grassley said. “He has done this while fighting for transparency and accountability in the government,” giving him “precisely the qualifications we need at this time” to head up the bureau.

Patel’s nomination has sparked early criticism from some Democrats ahead of his confirmation hearing, who have cited his previous vows to prosecute journalists and career officials at the Justice Department and FBI that he sees as being part of the “deep state.”

Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report

Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to [email protected].

January 30, 2025
Graham grills FBI nominee Patel over ‘disgusting’ and ‘corrupt’ Crossfire Hurricane probe

Trump FBI director nominee Kash Patel was grilled Thursday over the FBI’s investigation into alleged Trump-Russia connections in the aftermath of the 2016 election, known colloquially by its nickname “Crossfire Hurricane,” and which has emerged as something of a partisan lightning rod in the years since the investigation was closed.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, for his part, used most of his allotted time Thursday to grill Patel over his views on the investigation, which he has railed against as politically motivated and a “disgusting” use of FBI resources.

Patel was tapped in 2017 by then-House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes to join the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence to investigate the origins of the Trump-Russia probe— an investigation that was widely praised by Republicans as helping discredit the FBI’s inquest.

“Is it fair to say that the people in charge of investigating Crossfire Hurricane hated Trump’s guts?” Graham asked Patel Thursday during his confirmation hearing.

“Yes, sir,” Patel responded.

TRUMP AG PICK PAM BONDI CLEARS JUDICIARY COMMITTEE, WILL GET CONFIRMATION VOTE IN SENATE

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., waits for the arrival of President Joe Biden in the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Graham added: “Do you believe that Crossfire Hurricane was one of the most disgusting episodes in FBI history of a corrupt investigation led by corrupt people who wanted to take Donald Trump down?”

After Patel responded affirmatively, Graham continued to excoriate what he sees as the politicization of the FBI, which he claimed is “ignoring evidence, making up evidence, and lying to get Donald Trump.”

WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY DEFENDS TRUMP’S FIRING OF INSPECTORS GENERAL

President-elect Donald Trump has named longtime ally Kashyap “Kash” Patel, who has been a frequent and harsh critic of the FBI, to serve as the bureau’s next director in the new administration. (Reuters)

“FBI agents were telling anybody and everybody would listen that [the investigation] is not reliable, this is not trustworthy. But they plowed on,” Graham added.

“That’s why you’re in this chair today to fix that,” said Graham. “Without Crossfire Hurricane, this guy wouldn’t be here.”

Patel is a close ally of the president-elect and served in the first Trump administration both as a deputy assistant and as the senior director for counterterrorism.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

His nomination has sparked early criticism from some Democrats ahead of his confirmation hearing, who have cited his previous vows to prosecute journalists and career officials at the Justice Department and FBI that he sees as being part of the “deep state.”

He has since attempted to clarify some of those remarks.

Breanne Deppisch is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering the 2024 election and other national news.

January 30, 2025
Thom Tillis goes all in on Kash Patel after being a Hegseth holdout until the last minute

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., is going all in for President Donald Trump’s controversial FBI director nominee, Kash Patel, despite being considered a wildcard vote ahead of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s nomination.

In a significant show of support, Tillis will introduce Patel in the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing Thursday morning. His speech will be short and sweet, Tillis explained.

“I will be sharing about 700 words on his background, his upbringing, his work as a prosecutor, his work in the administration,” the Republican shared in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital.

‘SQUEEZED BY RISING COSTS’: DEMOCRAT JACKY ROSEN LEADS BIPARTISAN BILL TO ADDRESS CHILDCARE AFFORDABILITY

Tillis is going all in on Patel after waiting until the last minute to support Hegseth. (Getty Images)

The senator will also distribute several versions of a Patel-themed bingo game to his colleagues on the committee.

The “K$H Bingo” game includes subjects Tillis expects to be brought up by Democrats during the hearing. The sheet includes subjects such as “Deep State,” “Enemies List” and section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), among others.

Sen. Thom Tillis created a bingo sheet for a Senate Judiciary hearing. (Fox News Digital)

“I’m also going to be providing a bingo card because I know what everybody else is going to bring up,” he said. “We know what the words are. And they already started it, because when they ran out of things to attack [attorney general nominee] Pam Bondi on, they started attacking Kash.”

DOGE CHAIR JONI ERNST TAKES ON FOOD STAMPS IN NEW BILL TO HOLD STATES ‘ACCOUNTABLE’

Patel has been meeting with senators on Capitol Hill. (Getty Images)

“We know what they’re going to do. And I want to make it clear to them there’s no Perry Mason moment,” the North Carolina senator said. “I’m not going to let innuendo and rumors rule the day. I’m going to hold them accountable.”

Tillis’ hard push for Patel to be advanced and confirmed by the Senate comes just days after Hegseth’s confirmation came down to his vote, which wasn’t at all assured to be in Hegseth’s favor.

PETE BUTTIGIEG GIVING ‘SERIOUS LOOK’ TO 2026 SENATE RUN IN TRUMP-WON MICHIGAN

It wasn’t until several minutes before the Hegseth vote that Tillis released a statement revealing he would support Hegseth. He previously told reporters he was still doing due diligence after new allegations surfaced against the nominee.

Hegseth’s former sister-in-law had claimed in an affidavit that Hegseth abused alcohol and made his ex-wife, Samantha Hegseth, fear for her safety. Tillis told reporters only hours before the confirmation vote he was looking for any corroborating evidence regarding the allegations.

Hegseth was confirmed after Vice President JD Vance broke the tie. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP)

Hegseth answered additional last-minute questions from Tillis, which proved to be to the senator’s satisfaction, since he ultimately voted yes and secured Hegseth’s confirmation.

“Look, I have an obligation to one person in advise and consent, and that is the president of the United States. I take it seriously,” the senator explained.

GARY PETERS, DEMOCRATIC SENATOR FROM TRUMP STATE, WON’T SEEK RE-ELECTION

Tillis waited until the last minute to share his stance on Hegseth. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“I take it very seriously,” he reiterated. “I did with Pete. I ultimately voted for him and had to dispose of the allegations or assess the allegations that came at the eleventh hour.”

The North Carolina Republican also shared that he thinks his support will be beneficial for Patel.

“I believe I’ve established — even though I can be a pain to some people — as tedious as I can get with completing my due diligence. I think that it brings with it a certain amount of credibility, and that’s why it’s so important to me. I have to be consistent,” Tillis said.

Julia Johnson is a politics writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business, leading coverage of the U.S. Senate. She was previously a politics reporter at the Washington Examiner.

Follow Julia’s reporting on X at @JuliaaJohnson_ and send tips to [email protected].

January 29, 2025
‘Just like Trump’: ISIS murder victim Kayla Mueller’s parents endorse Patel for FBI following military op role

FIRST ON FOX: Carl and Marsha Mueller, the parents of ISIS murder victim Kayla Mueller, offered their full endorsement of Kash Patel for FBI director, after years of building a personal relationship with the Trump administration nominee.

“He loves his country. He loves the people of this country,” Marsha Mueller told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview via Zoom on Monday morning. “To us, you know, he is a person that we would go to for help. And he is so action oriented.”

“Just like Trump,” Carl Mueller added to his wife’s comments on Patel’s action-motivated personality.

The Muellers wrote a letter this week to Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., of the Senate Judiciary Committee, offering their full endorsement of Patel to serve as director of the FBI under the second Trump administration.

Their daughter Kayla was abducted by terrorists while leaving a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Aleppo, Syria, in 2013, when she was assisting with humanitarian efforts amid the country’s bloody civil war. She was held hostage for 18 months, when she was believed to be repeatedly tortured and raped by ISIS militants, including then-ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

‘WHEN THEY FAIL, AMERICANS DIE’: TRUMP SOURCE BLASTS FBI, URGES SWIFT CONFIRMATION OF KASH PATEL AS DIRECTOR

Carl Mueller, right, and Marsha Mueller show a picture of their daughter Kayla, who was killed by ISIS when she was an aid worker in Syria, as they attend the State of the Union address in 2020 in Washington, D.C. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

She was killed in 2015 — with her parents speaking to Fox Digital just days ahead of the 10-year anniversary of her death, on Feb. 6.

Patel served as deputy assistant to the president and senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council during the first Trump administration, which put him in the Mueller’s orbit when he assisted in overseeing the military operation to eliminate ISIS chief al-Baghdadi in 2019.

“We would like to add our voices to those in support of Kash Patel’s nomination to be the director of the FBI,” the Mueller’s letter to Senate lawmakers and obtained by Fox News Digital reads. “Any family who has lived through such an experience will know the value of dedicated, compassionate law enforcement officials.”

“Because we have watched him at his work over time, and because we have personal experience of his dedication, we know that Kash Patel is such a person,” the letter continues. “We continue to see in him a genuinely kind, thoughtful, action-oriented man who focuses on what is true and right and just. He loves our country and our citizens and wants the best for us all. He wants our country to be the best it can be.”

Patel personally has been at the Muellers side over the past five years, they told Fox News Digital. He has stood out from the crowd as a federal government employee who sincerely cares for Americans who are suffering and will pick up the phone “night or day” to speak with them following the tragic loss of their daughter.

“I’m confident if I texted him right now, he would get back to me before this interview is over,” Carl Mueller said.

‘BEACON OF SELFLESSNESS’: ISIS VICTIM KAYLA MUELLER HONORED AT CONGRESSMAN’S SWEARING-IN 10 YEARS AFTER DEATH

Kash Patel, left, meets with Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) in his Washington, D.C., office in 2024. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

NATIONAL SHERIFFS’ ASSOCIATION SLAMS STATE OF POLICING UNDER BIDEN, THROWS FULL SUPPORT BEHIND PATEL FOR FBI

Patel previously served as a public defender in Florida’s Miami-Dade area, as well as a Department of Justice official during the Obama administration, when he won awards for his prosecution and conviction of 12 terrorists responsible for the World Cup bombings in 2010.

Patel hit the national radar during Trump’s first administration, including when he worked as a national security advisor and senior counsel for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence under the leadership of then-Committee Chair Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif.

Kayla Mueller, pictured here, was abducted by terrorists while leaving a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Aleppo, Syria, in 2013. (The Associated Press)

The Muellers reflected on the first time they met with Patel at the White House nearly five years ago when he served on the National Security Council, and how he told them to contact him at any time with questions about their daughter or to just talk.

President Donald Trump, center, in October 2019, monitors developments as U.S. Special Operations forces close in on ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s compound in Syria with a mission to kill or capture the terrorist. (Shealah Craighead/The White House via Getty Images)

“We actually met Kash — we were back in D.C. at the White House, and he actually came to us and found us. That’s the first time we met him and wanted us to go meet with him and National Security Advisor, [Robert O’Brien]. So that’s how we first came to meet him. So it’s been almost five years ago. And they wanted to sit down and talk with us about Kayla. And we told them that we were working, and we’re still working with, [former FBI agent] Ali Soufan. And they told us to continue to work with him and they would help in any way they could. And so that was our first meeting,” Marsha Mueller said.

In their letter endorsing Patel, the Muellers reflected on the nominee’s note to them encouraging them to reach out, which came as a departure from their treatment under the Obama administration, they said.

Carl and Marsha Mueller, pictured here in 2020, wrote a letter offering their full endorsement of Kash Patel to serve as director of the FBI under the second Trump administration. (Committee on Arrangements for the 2020 Republican National Committee via Getty Images)

“It was actually after that first meeting when we met him, and he wrote us the note, and he said, ‘Please contact me at any time, day or night, with whatever questions you may have, or simply if you just need someone to speak with. I’ll always answer your call.’ And, you know, he’s kept every promise he’s ever made to us, as we knew we would from meeting him that first time,” Marsha Mueller told Fox News Digital.

PARENTS OF ISIS VICTIM KAYLA MUELLER REFLECT ON THEIR LOSS

The Muellers previously spoke out against the Obama administration’s handling of their daughter’s captivity in Syria, repeatedly saying she would not have been murdered if Trump was in office when she was taken hostage. Carl Mueller underscored the conviction in his interview on Monday, adding that the second Trump administration not only reopens lines of communication for his family, but extends hope to families around the country who have loved ones in the hands of terrorists.

“We didn’t want to forget to mention to the families of current American hostages that their chances of getting their loved ones home have exponentially increased with the Trump administration in there,” Carl Mueller said. “As I said before, if Trump would have been in office, Marsha and I are convinced that Kayla would be home. And we feel that he will do everything to get current American hostages. So just a word of encouragement and hope for them, because we know that sometimes hope is all they have.”

Then-President Barack Obama offered his condolences to the family following Kayla’s death in 2015, vowing that the U.S. would bring the terrorists to justice.

“She has been taken from us, but her legacy endures, inspiring all those who fight, each in their own way, for what is just and what is decent. No matter how long it takes, the United States will find and bring to justice the terrorists who are responsible for Kayla’s captivity and death,” Obama said at the time, just roughly four years before the Trump administration wiped out ISIS’s leader.

Kayla Mueller’s remains have not been recovered, but the couple believes the second Trump administration reinvigorates efforts to bring her and other hostages who have been murdered back to the U.S.

I WORKED WITH KASH PATEL TO EXPOSE THE RUSSIA HOAX AND KNOW HE’S THE BEST PICK TO REFORM THE FBI

“We believe [the Trump administration] will work closely with Ali Soufan to help us find Kayla and hopefully other hostages that were killed and bring them home as well,” Marsha Mueller said, referring to a former FBI agent who has worked with the Muellers across the years following Kayla Mueller’s captivity and murder.

President Donald Trump announces from the White House in October 2019 that ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been killed in a military operation in northwest Syria. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Patel, if confirmed, will replace former FBI Director Christopher Wray, whom the Muellers also lauded as a compassionate man who has also helped their efforts across the years. Looking ahead to the next four years, they said they are “very fortunate and looking forward to more progress and finding Kayla through the Trump administration.”

Patel is set to join the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday as the final leg of his nomination process kicks off in earnest. Patel has been on Capitol Hill meeting with Senate lawmakers to rally support for his nomination, earning praise from conservative lawmakers such as Tennessee Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty, as well as endorsements from key law enforcement groups, such as the National Sheriffs’ Association. Patel is expected to face an uphill battle overall to secure the nomination, as Democrats balk that he lacks the qualifications to lead the law enforcement agency and would politicize the agency.

GOP ATTORNEYS GENERAL OFFER SUPPORT FOR TRUMP FBI PICK KASH PATEL, URGE SENATORS TO DO THE SAME

Kash Patel, a former chief of staff to then-acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller, is followed by reporters as he departs from a deposition meeting on Capitol Hill on Dec. 9, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The Muellers explained that even when Patel was no longer serving in the first Trump administration, he met with the couple and other families suffering from losing a loved one to terrorist captivity. The Muellers were among family members who attended the trial of ISIS terrorist El Shafee Elsheikh, a member of the so-called “ISIS Beatles,” who admitted to his involvement in and knowledge of Kayla Mueller’s captivity.

Elsheikh’s trial was held in 2022, when he was convicted by a jury in the Eastern District of Virginia and sentenced to eight concurrent terms of life imprisonment for holding four American citizens, as well as British and Japanese nationals, hostage before their deaths.

Patel joined the Muellers and other affected families during the trial, the couple explained, meeting them and “anyone that wanted to talk with him” at their hotel and speaking to them for maybe an hour.

KAYLA MUELLER’S PARENTS PRAISE TRUMP, SOLDIERS FOR RAID THAT KILLED AL-BAGHDADI

“It was not just the Americans that came down when we were sitting there with him,” Marsha Mueller said. “Actually, people from other countries did, too, because … he was willing to sit and talk with us. I was really deeply touched by that.”

“But, you know, there was no reason, he was not in government anymore. But yet it was still in his heart and soul for justice,” she said.

The couple reflected on the past decade, when they first learned their daughter was murdered, remarking that Obama administration officials “will have to live with” their failure of not bringing the American citizen home before her death.

Marsha Mueller also read her daughter’s letter to her family while she was held captive, including a portion of the note that was not widely reported.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“We always like Kayla to speak for herself. And there’s a quote out there that most people know, but they don’t know what she said after that quote, and if I can get through it, she said, ‘I’ve known for some time what my life’s work is, using my hands as tools to relieve suffering.’ But she went on to say, ‘that is my life’s work, but my family is my life.’”

“That’s Kayla,” Marsha Mueller said through tears. “She loved us. We love her. And we encourage her to go out and help all the people she could in this world.”

January 28, 2025
FBI director nominee Kash Patel broke hostage rescue protocol: whistleblower

Senate Democrats have obtained a whistleblower report claiming that President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, violated protocol during a hostage rescue mission in October 2020.

The whistleblower letter, obtained by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., claimed that Patel leaked news that two Americans and the remains of a third were being transferred to U.S. custody from Yemen, where they had been held hostage by Houthi rebels. The whistleblower claims Patel leaked news of the trade to the Wall Street Journal hours before the hostages were actually in U.S. custody, potentially endangering the deal.

The protocol of the multi-agency group in charge of the mission was to withhold information about hostage deals until the subjects were both in U.S. custody and their families had been notified, according to the whistleblower.

A transition official pushed back on the report in a statement to Fox News Digital on Tuesday, saying Patel has a “track record of success.”

“Mr. Patel was a public defender, decorated prosecutor, and accomplished national security official that kept Americans safe,” the official said. “He has a track record of success in every branch of government, from the court room to congressional hearing room to the situation room. There is no veracity to this anonymous source’s complaints about protocol.”

TRUMP TO REINSTATE SERVICE MEMBERS DISCHARGED FOR NOT GETTING COVID-19 VACCINE

FBI nominee Kash Patel allegedly violated protocol during a hostage exchange deal, according to a new whistleblower report obtained by Senate Democrats. (Reuters)

In the October 2020 case, the deal went forward without any issues, with the two Americans and the remains of the third being transferred to U.S. custody. In exchange, the U.S. arranged for the release of some 200 Houthi fighters being held prisoner in Saudi Arabia.

Alexander Gray, who served as Chief of Staff for the White House National Security Council under Trump’s first administration, also called the allegations “simply absurd.”

Robert C. Obrien, who served as National Security Advisor from 2019 to 2021, argued that the whistleblower was jeopardizing decades of bipartisan work on hostage deals by coming forward.

Senate Democrats delivered the whistleblower letter on Monday morning to Acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Acting Treasury Secretary David Lebryk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CBS News reported.

The report comes just days before Patel is set to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee for an extensive confirmation hearing.

TULSI GABBARD CHANGES TUNE ON CONTROVERSIAL INTELLIGENCE TOOL FOLLOWING GOP LOBBYING

The Senate’s “advice and consent” role allows the body to review the president’s appointments and provide oversight on key positions. The picks require a majority vote in the Senate with Republicans holding a 53-47 vote advantage over Democrats.

Sen. Dick Durbin obtained the whistleblower report relating to Patel. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Patel has called for radical changes at the FBI and was a fierce and vocal critic of the bureau’s work as it investigated ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

He held numerous national security roles during the first Trump administration and was the chief investigator in the congressional probe into alleged Trump-Russia collusion, uncovering government surveillance abuse that led to the appointment of two special counsels: one who determined that there had been no such collusion and another who determined the entire premise of the FBI’s original investigation was bogus.

Several of President Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees face rough paths toward nomination. (Evan Vucci/AP)

Patel was an integral part of the creation of a memo released by then-Chair Devin Nunes in February 2018, which detailed the DOJ’s and FBI’s surveillance of former Trump campaign aide Carter Page under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

He’s been a loyal ally to Trump for years, finding common cause over their shared skepticism of government surveillance and the “deep state” — a catchall used by Trump to refer to unelected members of government bureaucracy.

Fox News’ Michael Dorgan contributed to this report

Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to [email protected], or on Twitter: @Hagstrom_Anders.

January 28, 2025
Patel, Gabbard to appear before Senate committees next week

Some of President Donald Trump’s most controversial executive branch nominees are set to appear before Congressional committees next week. The commander-in-chief promises that each one will shake up their respective departments if they are approved by the Senate.

Kashyap “Kash” Patel has been nominated to be the FBI’s next director and will appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee, while Director of National Intelligence (DNI) pick Tulsi Gabbard has a hearing scheduled on the same day before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Some of Trump’s most controversial executive branch nominees are set to appear before Congressional committees next week. Kashyap “Kash” Patel, left, has been nominated to be the FBI’s next director, while Tulsi Gabbard, right, is Trump’s Director of National Intelligence (DNI) pick. (Jack Gruber/USA TODAY Network / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

HEGSETH CLEARS SENATE HURDLE AND ADVANCES TO A FINAL CONFIRMATION VOTE

Meanwhile, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., tapped to become director of the Department of Health and Human Services, will face questions on Wednesday from members of the Senate Finance Committee, which directly oversees the department. He’ll also appear before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committee on Thursday for a courtesy hearing.

The Senate’s “advice and consent” role allows the body to review the president’s appointments and provide oversight on key positions. The picks require a majority vote in the Senate with Republicans holding a 53-47 vote advantage over Democrats.

But all face tough battles to get over the line. The Senate advanced the nomination of Pete Hegseth as Trump’s defense secretary on Thursday with Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, R-Alaska, and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, breaking ranks.

Patel has called for radical changes at the FBI and was a fierce and vocal critic of the bureau’s work as it investigated ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

He held numerous national security roles during the first Trump administration and was the chief investigator in the congressional probe into alleged Trump-Russia collusion, uncovering government surveillance abuse that led to the appointment of two special counsels: one who determined there was no such collusion and another who determined the entire premise of the FBI’s original investigation was bogus.

Trump nominated Patel as FBI director. (Getty Images)

TULSI GABBARD CHANGES TUNE ON CONTROVERSIAL INTELLIGENCE TOOL FOLLOWING GOP LOBBYING

Patel was an integral part of the creation of a memo released by then-Chair Devin Nunes in February 2018, which detailed the DOJ’s and FBI’s surveillance of former Trump campaign aide Carter Page under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

He’s been a loyal ally to Trump for years, finding common cause over their shared skepticism of government surveillance and the “deep state” — a catchall used by Trump to refer to unelected members of government bureaucracy.

Meanwhile, Trump has argued that Gabbard will bring a “fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community, championing our Constitutional Rights and securing Peace through Strength.” The director of national intelligence leads the U.S. intelligence community, which includes overseeing the National Intelligence Program and advising the president on security matters.

Gabbard has served as a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserves since 2021, after previously serving in the Hawaii Army National Guard for about 17 years. She was elected to the U.S. House representing Hawaii during the 2012 election cycle, serving as a Democrat until 2021. She did not seek re-election to that office after entering the 2020 White House race.

Gabbard left the Democratic Party in 2022, registering as an independent, before becoming a member of the GOP last year and offering her full endorsement of Trump amid his presidential campaign.

Critics have attempted to paint Gabbard as a national security risk who is sympathetic to U.S. adversaries.

However, more than 250 veterans signed a letter last month endorsing her nomination, including high-profile and nationally known names such as retired Gen. Michael Flynn and former acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is also a contentious pick, and he could face opposition. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Kennedy Jr. is also a contentious pick, and he could face opposition, even from Republicans. In particular, Kennedy’s views and past statements about vaccines have been scrutinized by both GOP and Democratic lawmakers.

Additionally, GOP lawmakers have been concerned about Kennedy’s pro-abortion views that he has espoused in the past and his potential impact on the agriculture sector.

In what was a blockbuster move by the former Democrat, Kennedy dropped out of the 2024 presidential race as an Independent and endorsed Trump, vowing to “Make America Healthy Again” should he be part of the new administration.

Fox News’ Emma Colton and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

Michael Dorgan is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.

You can send tips to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @M_Dorgan.

January 24, 2025