Kash Patel was confirmed by the U.S. Senate Feb. 20, 2025, as the ninth ever FBI director, succeeding Christopher Wray. (J. Scott Applewhite, File/The Associated Press)
HERE'S WHAT KASH PATEL'S FORMER COLLEAGUES ARE SAYING ABOUT HIM
"The FBI has a storied legacy — from the ‘G-Men’ to safeguarding our nation in the wake of 9/11," Patel said. "The American people deserve an FBI that is transparent, accountable, and committed to justice."
"The politicization of our justice system has eroded public trust — but that ends today," he added.
Patel told Fox News Digital that his "mission" as FBI director "is clear."
"Let good cops be cops," he said. "And rebuild trust in the FBI."
"Working alongside the dedicated men and women of the bureau and our partners, we will rebuild an FBI the American people can be proud of," Patel said.
And Patel issued a stark warning.
"To those who seek to harm Americans — consider this your warning," Patel said. "We will hunt you down in every corner of this planet."
He added: "Mission First. America Always. Let’s get to work."
Kash Patel, a lawyer, served as a public defender and national security prosecutor at the Justice Department and tried scores of complex criminal cases. (Mandel Andel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
Beyond his counterterrorism work, Patel was heavily involved in U.S. strategy to counter Chinese, Russian, Iranian and North Korean efforts against U.S. interests. He also worked on the implementation of multimillion dollar sanctions against foreign adversaries.
Prior to working as a deputy to Trump and in the National Security Council, Patel worked in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) as the principal deputy to the acting DNI Ric Grenell and helped former Director John Ratcliffe transition into the role. Trump nominated Ratcliffe in January to serve as the director of the CIA.
At ODNI, Patel also worked to focus intelligence collection against counter-narcotic and transnational threats.
Prior to joining the first Trump administration, Patel served as the national security advisor and senior counsel for counterterrorism to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Patel was also the chief investigator for the committee’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Throughout his investigation, he led the effort to uncover FISA abuse and exposed the FBI and the DOJ’s unlawful actions before federal court to illegally surveil Americans, including members of the 2016 Trump campaign.
FBI Director James Comey is sworn in on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 7, 2016, prior to testifying before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing to explain his agency's recommendation to not prosecute Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton over her private email setup. (J. Scott Applewhite/The Associated Press)
Trump fired Comey in May 2017. Days later, Robert Mueller was appointed as special counsel to take over the "Crossfire Hurricane" probe and investigate whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 election cycle.
While Mueller investigated, the HPSCI opened its own investigation into alleged Trump-Russia collusion.
Patel, as chief investigator for Nunes, by February 2018 had discovered widespread government surveillance abuse, including improper surveillance of former Trump campaign aide Carter Page.
"While most members of Congress were ready to ignore the unprecedented civil rights abuses against the Trump campaign and myself, Kash Patel’s training as a top public defender made him the perfect advocate for exposing one of the greatest election interference scandals of all time," Page told Fox News Digital.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., August 19, 2024. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
The memo also said Steele, who worked as an FBI informant, was eventually cut off from the bureau for what the FBI described as the most serious of violations, "an unauthorized disclosure to the media of his relationship with the FBI."
The memo noted that the FBI and DOJ obtained "one initial FISA warrant" targeting Page and three FISA renewals from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. The statute required that every 90 days a FISA order on an American citizen "must be reviewed."
The memo revealed that Comey signed three FISA applications for Page, while McCabe, former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates and former Acting Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente signed at least one.
House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, wrote a letter to then-FBI Director Christopher Wray, pictured here, in 2024 to investigate the improper surveillance of Kash Patel. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
DURHAM TESTIFIES FBI IGNORED HILLARY CLINTON PLAN TO LINK TRUMP TO RUSSIA
House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, wrote a letter to then-FBI Director Christopher Wray in 2024 to investigate the improper surveillance of Patel.
Meanwhile, Mueller completed his investigation in April 2019, which yielded no evidence of criminal conspiracy or coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia to influence the 2016 election.
Weeks later, then-Attorney General Bill Barr tapped then-U.S. Attorney for Connecticut John Durham to serve as special counsel to investigate the origins of the FBI’s original Trump-Russia probe.
Then-U.S. Attorney for Connecticut John Durham was tapped serve as special counsel to investigate the origins of the FBI’s original Trump-Russia probe. (Screenshot/House Judiciary Committee)
Durham in his report said the Justice Department and FBI "failed to uphold their mission of strict fidelity to the law" when it launched its original Trump–Russia probe.
He also said in his report that the FBI "failed to act" on a "clear warning sign" that the bureau was the "target" of a Clinton-led effort to "manipulate or influence the law enforcement process for political purposes" ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Durham was referring to intelligence on a plan stirred up by Clinton’s presidential campaign in July 2016 to tie Trump to Russia in an effort to distract from the investigation into her use of a private email server and mishandling of classified information.
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Patel, a lawyer, served as a public defender and national security prosecutor at the Justice Department and tried scores of complex criminal cases. All told, Patel has served in the U.S. government for 16 years.
His final role in the first Trump administration was serving as the chief of staff at the Department of Defense.
Brooke Singman is a political correspondent and reporter for Fox News Digital, Fox News Channel and FOX Business.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fbi-director-kash-patel-vows-restore-trust-bureau-hunt-down-bad-actors-in-every-corner-planet