Takeaways from FBI director nominee Kash Patel’s combative confirmation hearing
CNN
President Donald Trump’s pick to run the FBI, Kash Patel, downplayed his past promotion of right-wing conspiracy theories and his pledges to pursue retribution against Trump’s opponents on Thursday at his combative Senate confirmation hearing.
President Donald Trump’s pick to run the FBI, Kash Patel, downplayed his past promotion of right-wing conspiracy theories and his pledges to pursue retribution against Trump’s opponents on Thursday at his combative Senate confirmation hearing. Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee tried to pin down Patel over past comments praising the rioters who attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, his public courtship of influencers in the QAnon conspiracy movement and his promise to go after current and former Justice Department and FBI officials that he once put on a list of “corrupt actors.” So far, no Republicans have publicly stated their opposition to Patel’s nomination, and none raised concerns at the hearing. Democratic senators grilled Patel throughout the day, but he claimed they were cherry-picking excerpts of old comments to make him look bad. The role of FBI director is supposed to be a 10-year term, to insulate the position from politics. After winning in November, Trump made clear that he’d fire FBI chief Chris Wray, so Wray resigned. As a result, Patel is now on a clear path to leading the FBI very soon. Here’s what to know about Thursday’s hearing: Retribution was the overarching theme of the day.
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