FBI Director Kash Patel opened his testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee with an update on the investigation into the assassination of Charlie Kirk as scrutiny lingers on his handling of the case. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
"It’s important that the FBI is as transparent as possible without jeopardizing our investigation," Patel said.
The FBI chief listed off numerous findings in the case, including an "extensive review" of suspect Tyler Robinson’s accounts and devices, and said that more than 100 interviews had been conducted since the shooting, and the FBI has received more than 11,000 submissions through the National Threat Operations Center and more than 16,000 submissions through the Digital Media Tipline.
"We are making a traditionally nontransparent agency, the most transparent it has ever been," Patel said.
He lauded the public participation in the case, too, and noted that the tens of thousands of tips that poured in helped in identifying a suspect.
"Tyler Robinson is in custody today because of this partnership," he said.
KNIVES ARE OUT FOR EMBATTLED FBI DIRECTOR KASH PATEL, DESPITE TRUMP SUPPORT
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell were both indicted on federal sex trafficking charges stemming from Epstein's years of abuse of underage girls. (Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
However, earlier this year a memo from the FBI stated that "it is the determination of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation that no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted," after investigating the tens of thousands of documents associated with Jeffrey Epstein.
That triggered a firestorm on Capitol Hill that is still roiling. Patel argued that the "original sin" of the Epstein case began in the early 2000s, where "very limited search warrants that didn’t intake as much material into the FBI possession as it should have" were issued.
"If I were FBI director then, I wouldn’t have allowed such a limited search warrant to be issued for these types of atrocious offenses," he said.
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He argued that under former U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta, Epstein was allowed to enter into a plea deal with non-prosecution agreements, "plus the courts issued protective orders and sealed large volumes of material from ever being disclosed."
"The non-prosecution barred any future criminal culpability for this entire time period," Patel said. "Still, this administration has done more than any of the previous administrations to seek transparency in this case."
"[The] DOJ has made motions to the court to unseal grand jury records on multiple occasions, but the courts have denied these motions," he continued. "Further, it was the first Trump administration that brought the renewed case against Epstein in 2019. Under the direction of this president, we have turned over ALL credible information in conjunction with our partners in Congress."
Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/most-transparent-fbi-ever-patel-updates-senate-kirk-assassination-probe