FBI Director Kash Patel Faces Senate Hearing Over Controversial Leadership and Policy Changes

FBI Director Kash Patel has been grilled by the US Senate for nearly five hours over his controversial management of the agency, including the ousting of experienced agents.

Mr Patel's time at the FBI has been marred by his firing of veteran employees with little explanation.

Appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Mr Patel defended his tenure, saying the US murder rate had fallen to a 20-year low, according to FBI data.

Here are the main takeaways.

Patel defends Epstein files rollout

Mr Patel defended FBI investigators who worked on the Epstein files release, as part of the Congress-backed Epstein Files Transparency Act.

Survivors of the notorious sex offender said the FBI failed to investigate Jeffrey Epstein in 1996 when the agency was notified of the first allegations.

More than 30 of Epstein's victims have now brought forward a lawsuit against the FBI, despite attempts by the Trump administration to dismiss the case.

They've also criticised the administration for publishing unredacted personal information in the released files.

Mr Patel told the hearing that the FBI had complied with the Transparency Act and "produced three and a half million pages of documents for the first time ever".

"We've also repeatedly stated if there's new information, we want everyone to come forward so that we can analyse that information as to what is and isn't remaining," he said.

Probe into bestiality hiring change

One of the stranger moments was when Mr Patel confirmed the FBI had quietly lifted restrictions on hiring applicants who were victims of bestiality in their childhood

Similar changes were also made to those who had previously participated in prostitution.

Mr Patel denied the changes reflected a lowering of employment standards and insisted these were designed to prevent victims who had been forced to engage in that conduct from being automatically disqualified.

"We did not want to punish victims of bestiality, victims who were trafficked," he said.

"We did not want to make it an automatic disqualification for the FBI to consider you if you were a victim of these awful, heinous acts."

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The questioning spanned partisan lines, with Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana grilling Mr Patel about the rationale for a change the FBI director said subordinates proposed to him.

"When you saw bestiality, I say this with respect: The person who recommended it, why didn't you just say what planet did you parachute in from?" Senator Kennedy asked.

Mr Patel later added that previous regulations disqualified "any individual who participated on either side of it".

"Either side of what, the bestiality?" Senator Kennedy probed further. "So you disqualified the animal?"

Patel rallies against 'weaponised FBI', amid reported firings

The main reason for the hearing was reports that Mr Patel had been gutting the ranks of longstanding FBI staff.

Connecticut Democrat Richard Blumenthal pressed Mr Patel, noting the agents had participated in an FBI investigation into Mr Trump's retention of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.

"Do you think firing the president's political opponents is more important than retaining the decades of experience and expertise monitoring intelligence threats from Iran?" Mr Blumenthal asked.

He later suggested that the scope of firings had been overblown, saying many agents had retired.

Mr Patel also later refused to pledge the FBI wouldn't interfere in mid-term elections.

"I pledge unequivocally that I will not participate in your charade of lies," he added.

Heated questioning over Olympics partying, magazine lawsuit

Mr Patel was probed on his personal expenses, including partying with the US hockey team as they celebrated their Winter Olympics win in Italy.

"What you'll never understand is the players, who are my friends, invited me to the locker room," the FBI director said.

"What you'll never understand is that during that trip, where 300,000 Americans went to Italy to participate in the games and watch them, not a single security incident occurred."

Mr Patel also defended his decision to file a defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic after it printed a story alleging he has a drinking problem that has interfered with his ability to do his job.

"As a personal private citizen, I am allowed to participate in my own defence, especially when there's a smear campaign," he alleged, before becoming heated.

"Everyone sees you for the complete and total fraud you are," Mr Patel told Senator Peter Welch, who asked whether FBI resources had been used to investigate The Atlantic journalist.