Dems clash with FBI nominee Kash Patel but make little hay over ‘enemies list'

WASHINGTON (CN) — Senate Democrats on Thursday again made the case that FBI director nominee Kash Patel is an unqualified political crusader and a conspiracy theorist who would bring a “trail of grievances” to the top federal law enforcement role.

But despite leaning hard in recent weeks on President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the FBI and his controversial list of “deep state” operatives, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee largely used a hearing with Patel to grill him on other topics.

“The FBI plays a critical role in keeping America safe from terrorism, violent crime and other threats,” said Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin as Patel’s nomination hearing got underway Thursday**** morning. “Our nation needs an FBI director who understands the gravity of this mission, is ready on day one, not someone who is consumed by his own personal political grievances.”

Patel, a former Donald Trump administration official tapped by the president late last year to lead the federal government’s chief law enforcement agency, has faced sharp scrutiny for months over his experience and his political independence from the White House. Lawmakers, particularly Democrats, have pointed to what they say were Patel’s efforts to soften the events of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and approving comments he has made about the QAnon conspiracy theory as uniquely disqualifying factors.

But the loudest criticism from Democrats has surrounded an appendix published in his 2023 book “Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth and the Battle for our Democracy,” which they say amounts to an “enemies list” that could be used to prosecute former government officials if Patel becomes FBI director. Former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and former President Joe Biden both appeared on that list.

“Does this sound like the kind of nonpartisan law enforcement professional who should lead the FBI?” Durbin said Thursday. “This is someone who’s left behind a trail of grievances throughout his life — anyone who disrespects him or doesn’t agree with him.”

In spite of that sharp commentary, though, lawmakers did not push Patel hard to explain his so-called “enemies list,” which he maintains is anything but. Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar was one of the only committee Democrats to ask the nominee directly about the list.

In a testy exchange with the senator, Patel said referring to the appendix of his book — entitled “Members of the Executive Branch Deep State” — as an “enemies list” was a “total mischaracterization.” The section was akin to a “glossary,” he added.

Later on, the nominee told Hawaii Senator Mazie Hirono that he had “no plans on going backwards” when asked whether he would investigate former government officials such as those listed in his book — but added one caveat.

“No one that did not break the law will be investigated,” he cryptically told Hirono.

Beyond these interactions, however, Patel was largely not asked by Democrats to defend the so-called “enemies list” or make any commitments not to use it if he were confirmed as FBI director.

Lawmakers instead pressed Patel on his involvement with the production of a 2023 charity record featuring Trump and a choir of Jan. 6 prisoners singing “The Star-Spangled Banner,” with the proceeds going toward legal defense funds for some rioters.

The nominee distanced himself from the record’s production, claiming not to know the rioters involved or how the song was made.

Durbin explained that Patel’s views on the Jan. 6 record demonstrate where the would-be FBI director’s loyalties lay.

“Who are you going to help?” he said. “The victims of Jan. 6 — policemen and their families — or the people who were arrested for assaulting them? I think the Jan. 6 choir looks like a tribute to them.”

Republicans on the Judiciary Committee, meanwhile, dismissed Democrats**’** concerns.

“The fact of the matter is, some people will be here simply to substantiate a false narrative,” said North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis, who offered the FBI nominee his “strongest recommendation.”

Tillis chalked up Democratic criticisms to “an unfounded litany of quotes and half-quotes and half-truths.”

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, chair of the Judiciary Committee, pushed back on the existence of Patel’s “enemies list,” agreeing with the nominee’s contention that it was a mischaracterization of the names identified in the pages of his book.

“Mr. Patel has identified those he believes put politics and personal ambition over service to the country,” Grassley said.

Patel**** similarly**** rejected the notions that he was either unqualified to lead the FBI or that he would be a political instrument of Trump if confirmed. He argued on**** several**** occasions**** that statements and views ascribed to him by Democrats were “taken out of grotesque context.”

“Anyone that thinks my 16 years of service isn’t exemplary of how I would proceed if confirmed as FBI director is intentionally putting false information into the public ether and is creating more public discourse,” Patel said. Under his leadership, the nominee continued, the FBI would merely be a “depoliticized” law enforcement system devoted to “rigorous obedience” of the Constitution.

Patel also ducked questions from Durbin about whether the president was right to pardon violent offenders from the Capitol riot, some of whom have been arrested again since their release.

“I have always rejected any violence against law enforcement … and I do not agree with the commutation of any sentence of any individual who committed violence against law enforcement,” said the nominee — though he did not say that Trump was wrong to do so.

Patel also distanced himself from the QAnon conspiracy theory.

In one particularly tense moment between him and Klobuchar, Patel offered his unvarnished opinion on Democrats’ lines of questioning.

“If the best attacks on me are going to be false accusations and gross mischaracterizations, the only thing this body is doing is defeating the credibility of the men and women at the FBI,” he fumed.

Klobuchar fired back that she had only quoted him directly when asking about his comments. “Facts matter,” she said.

In his opening statement to lawmakers, meanwhile, Patel outlined a vision for the FBI under his leadership which he said would restore Americans’ trust in federal law enforcement and the justice system. He argued that the agency could get things back under control by clamping down on violent crime while also increasing transparency and facilitating congressional oversight.

“I am committed to working alongside the dedicated men and women of the FBI,” Patel told the committee. “They are warriors of justice and I will always have their backs.”

If confirmed, the FBI nominee would potentially work alongside Trump’s attorney general nominee Pam Bondi. The Judiciary Committee on Wednesday advanced Bondi’s nomination to the full Senate on a party-line vote.

Patel, a former federal prosecutor, previously served as a senior adviser to acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell under the first Trump administration. He was also chief of staff to acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller. If confirmed, he would replace former FBI Director Christopher Wray.

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