The FBI‘s newest director has sparked an unprecedented firestorm within the bureau he was hand-picked to lead.
Kashyap ‘Kash’ Patel, 45, known for his close relationship with MAGA politics, has demanded sweeping loyalty tests and extensive vetting procedures for the agency’s staff, indicating the FBI’s latest leader may not fully trust the agency he was named to lead.
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As director, Patel is automatically assigned a team of FBI agents tasked with ensuring his safety, however, his latest request suggests that he is not willing to place his life in the hands of his very own agents.
The former prosecutor also inquired about how to get a secure phone line directly to the Oval Office from both his FBI office in Washington D.C. and his home, according to the Journal.
Patel reportedly claimed he did not wish to go through the FBI landline in his office, but instead a direct line to his ally, President Donald Trump.
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The indirect line of contact was allegedly installed to help maintain distance and demonstrate independence from the White House.
Patel, however, is a loyal ally of the president, serving as a national security advisor in his first administration.
‘Director Patel is aggressively working to deliver on removing criminals from our streets, restoring law and order, and ensuring agents have the resources they need to perform their duties effectively,’ FBI spokesperson Ben Williamson said.
‘We have absolutely zero interest in engaging with false leaks or distractions that undermine that mission,’ he added.
The New York-native was among Trump’s most controversial administration picks.
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Their reservation wasn’t just that Patel had a complete lack of experience at the FBI, but overwhelming concerns from critics suggested that the newly-appointed federal agent is a conspiracy theorist.
In 2022, the FBI Director authored a children’s picture book which pushed the claim that former President Joe Biden rigged the 2020 election against Trump.
Patel was also often known to label his political opposition and even the FBI as part of ‘the deep state’ – which refers to a body of people, typically influential members of government agencies or the military, believed to be involved in the secret manipulation or control of government policy – during his time serving as a commentator at The Epoch Times.
He has also expressed a sympathetic attitude toward the QAnon movement, which claims that the Democratic Party is a ‘pedophilic cabal.’
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The Justice Department has also been trying to fire FBI agents who investigated Trump but has faced legal pushback, the Daily Beast reported.
Last week, Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi, another well-known Trump ally, enraged Trump’s supporters with a release of ‘Epstein files’ that offered no new information on the disgraced sex-offender.
* Original Article:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14477517/amp/New-FBI-director-ignites-fury-agency-Kash-Patel.html?ito=smartnews