FBI Director Kash Patel grilled on Charlie Kirk, Jeffrey Epstein cases at Senate hearing

Trump told an Australian journalist that he was “hurting Australia” after he asked a question about the president’s business dealings, saying he would report the journalist to the Australian prime minister.

“Is it appropriate, President Trump, that a president in office should be engaged in so much business activity?” journalist John Lyons from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation asked Trump yesterday on the White House lawn. 

Trump clashes with Australian reporter in heated White House exchange

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“I’m really not. My kids are running the business,” Trump responded, before asking Lyons where he was from.

“You are hurting Australia very much right now, and they want to get along with me,” Trump then said. “Your leader is coming over to see me very soon, I’m going to tell him about you. You set a very bad tone.” 

India said trade talks with the U.S. are “positive” and “forward looking,” as Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held their first call in months amid tensions over tariffs and other issues.

The two leaders said they spoke yesterday, the day before Modi’s 75th birthday today, in their first publicly known call since June. The relationship between Trump and Modi, who refer to each other as “dear friends,” has deteriorated in recent months, especially after the U.S. doubled tariffs on Indian goods to 50% as punishment for India’s purchases of Russian oil, which Trump says are aiding Moscow’s war on Ukraine.

“Just had a wonderful phone call with my friend, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I wished him a very Happy Birthday! He is doing a tremendous job,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. 

“Narendra: Thank you for your support on ending the War between Russia and Ukraine!” Trump added, without giving details. 

Responding on X, Modi thanked Trump for the birthday call and said he was “fully committed” to taking U.S.-India relations to new heights. “We support your initiatives towards a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict,” he added.

Police in the U.K. arrested four people after photos of President Donald Trump and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were projected onto Windsor Castle Tuesday night.

The projections included photos of Trump and Epstein; of the two joined by first lady Melania Trump with Epstein and his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell; and of a lewd birthday message Trump allegedly sent Epstein in 2003 for a 50th birthday book.

Trump arrived in London on Tuesday for a state visit. He’s expected to spend most of Wednesday at the castle with King Charles III and Queen Camilla and other members of the royal family.

Read the full story here.

Minnesota voters chose a Democratic successor today for the state House seat that had been held by Melissa Hortman, who was assassinated in June.

Democrat Xp Lee defeated Republican Ruth Bittner in the special election in the solidly Democratic district in the northwestern suburbs of the Twin Cities, The Associated Press projected.

Lee’s win comes three months after Hortman, a former state House speaker, and her husband were killed in what Minnesota authorities have described as a “politically motivated assassination” at their Brooklyn Park home on June 14.

Another legislator, state Sen. John Hoffman, and his wife, Yvette, were also shot in their home that evening and were severely wounded. The man who has been charged in both shootings, Vance Boelter, has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of second-degree intentional murder and attempted murder.

Read the full story here.

A federal judge in Manhattan denied a request from NBC News today to unseal the names of two associates of Jeffrey Epstein who, according to prosecutors, received large payments from him in 2018. The judge, Richard Berman, cited privacy and safety concerns expressed by lawyers for the two individuals.

Judge Berman wrote that a lawyer for the first associate stated that “after Epstein’s arrest and subsequent death Individual-1 was ‘the subject of death threats.'" The attorney added that law enforcement officials and other victims’ attorneys “now all recognize [Individual-1] was mislabeled as a potential co-conspirator, rather than a badly harmed victim.”

The judge also said that a lawyer for the second associate stated that, “after years of extensive investigation, we have ultimately concluded that [Individual-2] and [Individual-1] were both victimized by Jeffrey Epstein … and should be afforded the same protections that have been afforded to all other victims.”

Nearly a week after Charlie Kirk’s assassination, emotions are running high on Capitol Hill, with many GOP lawmakers publicly grieving for their friend and casting blame on Democrats and the media for the conservative activist’s shocking death.

Resolutions to honor Kirk — and punish his opponents — are flying around Congress. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., and Buddy Carter, R-Ga., both running for higher office in 2026, have authored dueling resolutions to strip Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of her committee assignments after she criticized Kirk’s past “words and actions” immediately after the shooting.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., who was close to Kirk, is calling on Rep. Andre Carson, D-Ind., to fire a staffer who re-posted a quote on social media saying Kirk was “a casualty of the violence he incited.”

And Republican Rep. Chip Roy, who is running for attorney general in Texas, is calling for the creation of a special committee to investigate the “money, influence, and power behind the radical left’s assault on America” in light of Kirk’s death.

Read the full story here.

The White House and its top Republican allies in Congress have, for now, snubbed federal judges who asked for additional security funds as a result of a recent spike in violent threats.

While a short-term government funding bill House Republicans unveiled today included $30 million in security funds for members of Congress and $28 million to help protect justices of the Supreme Court, it didn’t include the money requested for security for lower court judges.

The request was made by the U.S. Judicial Conference, the policy arm of the judiciary, which held its biannual meeting in Washington today.

The Republican stopgap bill “does not provide additional money for the lower court’s judicial security,” federal Appeals Judge Amy St. Eve, who serves on the Judicial Conference’s budget committee, said on a call with reporters shortly after its release.

Read the full story here.

Trump said today on Truth Social that the Republican Party will hold a convention ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

He did not provide details about the time or place for the event but said it will be held “to show the great things we have done since the Presidential Election of 2024.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Trump administration will be “targeting” hate speech, which she differentiated from free speech — and then tried to walk it back a day later.

“There’s free speech and then there’s hate speech,” Bondi said in an interview with “The Katie Miller Podcast” that aired yesterday, appearing to shrug off First Amendment concerns.

Asked if the Justice Department would be cracking down on groups that engage in such speech, Bondi said, “We will absolutely target you, go after you, if you are targeting anyone with hate speech, anything — and that’s across the aisle.”

Bondi says Justice Department will target users of hate speech

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Read the full story here.

Trump and the first lady were greeted at Winfield House, the official residence of the U.S. ambassador to the U.K., by Ambassador Warren Stephens and his wife, Harriet.

Speaking briefly to the media before he entered the residence, Trump thanked Stephens for welcoming him and said he was excited to be back in the U.K.

“I have a lot of things here, they warm my heart,” listing his resorts in Turnberry and Aberdeen in Scotland as examples.

Trump also said he was ready for a “big day” tomorrow. He is expected to stay overnight at Windsor Castle with King Charles III and Queen Camilla, where he will receive a carriage procession of the estate. Asked by a journalist what his message to the king is, Trump called him “a friend of mine for a long time.”

“Everybody respects him, and they love him,” Trump said.

Liberal Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor today warned that the poor quality of civics education means Americans may not know the difference between a president and a king.

Sotomayor bemoaned the lack of education about such issues as the rule of law, saying not enough people have a basic understanding of the power of the president and the limits the Constitution imposes upon that authority.

Read the full story here.

Trump signed an executive order today that delays a ban on TikTok in the United States until mid-December, just a day after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration had reached a "framework for a TikTok deal" with China.

Trump's order says that he's extending the deadline to enforce the ban to Dec. 16 and that until then, the Justice Department won't take action to enforce it.

Bessent was in Madrid yesterday for trade talks with China. He said that while he wasn't going to discuss "the commercial terms of the deal," they "have been agreed upon.”

Barr testified at his deposition that he wasn't aware of any evidence in the Epstein probe that the convicted sex offender procured women for Trump.

He said prosecutors in New York had investigated people in Epstein's social circle "to see if there was, in fact, any evidence to support that any of these people actually violated the law."

"And you have no direct knowledge of any of the now young women or women that claimed that they had encounters with the president through Epstein, correct?" asked Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas.

"I never was told by the Southern District that they had evidence to support any claim like that," Barr responded, referring to the U.S. attorney's office in New York, which investigated the case and charged Epstein with sex trafficking.

"I was never told that there was evidence to support that claim," Barr added.

Georgia’s highest court has declined to consider Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ appeal of her removal from the Georgia election interference case against Trump and others.

Citing an “appearance of impropriety” created by a romantic relationship Willis had with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, whom she had hired to lead the case, the Georgia Court of Appeals in December ruled that Willis and her office could not continue to prosecute the case.

Read the full story here.

The White House defended Patel's leadership at the FBI after today's contentious Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.

“Director Patel has done an outstanding job leading the FBI and today’s hearing showcased the strong results he’s delivered — catching Charlie Kirk’s assassin in just 33 hours; driving down crime rates; partnering with state and local law enforcement; finding missing children; and more," White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement.

"Kash Patel is restoring integrity to the FBI and the entire Administration is cheering him on," she added.

Democrats criticized Patel at the hearing over his handling of Kirk's assassination and several firings at the bureau that some have viewed as political retribution.

Trump has landed in London for his U.K. trip.

He will make history as the first elected leader to receive two state visits from the royal family.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced today that he would seek re-election to a third term in 2026.

“I want to make Minnesota a place where everyone has a chance to succeed, in every corner of the state,” Walz said in an announcement video.

Minnesota is one of several states that allows governors to serve more than two terms. Walz, the Democratic Party’s vice presidential nominee last year, joins Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, also a Democrat, in seeking third terms next year.

Read the full story here.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro excoriated the recent spate of politically motivated attacks and killings in a speech at the Eradicate Hate Global Summit, days after Kirk was assassinated in Utah.

Shapiro, who is up for re-election next fall and is widely considered a contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, has spoken out about political violence repeatedly over the last year after high-profile incidents in his state, including at his own home.

Read the full story here.

House Republican leaders released the text of their bill today to keep the government funded through Nov. 21, with the goal of passing it through the full House this week.

But it’s far from certain they have the votes in their slim majority, in which they can afford only two defections before they need Democratic support or absences to approve it.

Read the full story here.

Barr told the Oversight committee he remembered having two conversations with Trump about the Epstein case while serving as attorney general during Trump's first term.

"One was when I heard about the suicide. I called him up and said, 'You better brace for this,' and I told him words to that effect, and I told him about it and told him we were going to be investigating it very vigorously," Barr told the panel, according to the transcript.

Trump, he said, “had the same reaction I did, which is this is going to certainly generate a lot of conspiracy theories.”

The House Oversight Committee has released the transcript of their closed door interview of former Attorney General William Barr about the Jeffrey Epstein case.

The committee interviewed Barr, who was A.G. when Epstein died in 2019, in August.

Former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger continues to rake in millions of dollars as she runs for governor in Virginia, far outpacing Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, according to new fundraising reports.

The reports, filed yesterday, show Spanberger raised about $14.1 million from July through August, while Earle-Sears raised $5.2 million. Spanberger's campaign spent $17.1 million over that period of time, ending August with $12.2 million in its account. Earle-Sears' campaign spent $4.8 million, and ended August with $4.9 million on hand.

Spanberger's fundraising advantage has persisted throughout the race, with her campaign also dominating the airwaves ahead of the November election to replace term-limited Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin. The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter recently shifted its race rating from a toss-up to leaning Democratic, in part because of Spanberger's strong fundraising.

Virginia and New Jersey are the only two states with gubernatorial races this year.

Trump will touch down today in a country whose king is prepared to fete him, and whose citizenry roundly dislikes him.

Happily for the president, he will see a lot of King Charles III and little of everyday Britons in a two-day trip where he’ll make history as the first elected leader to receive not one but two state visits courtesy of the royal family.

Read the full story here.

Patel's testimony has wrapped, and the hearing has concluded after more than four hours.

Patel calls Schiff a 'liar' and 'political buffoon' at Senate hearing

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Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Patel got into a shouting match amid questions about the administration's handling of questions related to Jeffrey Epstein.

As they yelled over each other, Patel defended the administration and touted what he called "historic reform," before pivoting to attacking Schiff's conduct.

"You are the biggest fraud to ever sit in the United States Senate," Patel said. "You are disgrace to this institution and an utter coward."

Grassley banged his gavel as the two continued arguing.

In his line of questioning, Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., zeroed in again on whether FBI employees were fired for political retribution.

"Are you testifying today that you never terminated anyone at the FBI in whole or in part because of a prior case assignment?" Schiff asked.

Patel said, "No one at the FBI is terminated for case assignments alone."

Patel addressed his decision to announce during the manhunt for Kirk's killer that a subject was in custody before that person was ultimately released.

"What the FBI does is not just locate and find suspects, but we also participate in eliminating subjects, and what we had at the time was a subject in custody in relation to this investigation," Patel said. "So in my commitment to work with the public to help identify subjects and suspects, I put that information out, and then when we interviewed him, I put out the results of that."

Patel reiterated that "sure" he could have been "more careful in my verbiage."

Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., asserted that Patel made a mistake with his social media post.

"I don't see it as a mistake," Patel said, adding that he saw it as "working with the public to identify that there was a subject in custody."

‘I don't see it as a mistake’: Patel explains posts during manhunt after Kirk's death

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Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, weighed in on people posting comments critical of Kirk on social media after his killing.

"Under our Constitution, under the Bill of Rights, the First Amendment, speech is protected, and that's true even for vile speech," Cruz said. "Someone can stand up and say the most hateful thing, and it's protected by the First Amendment."

He encouraged the FBI to "focus on conduct."

"Speech can guide you to those engaged in conduct," he added.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., began his round of questioning by accusing Patel of lying about firing FBI agents out of retribution for political investigations, leading to both men shouting over each other and a verbal reprimand from the committee chair as he rapped his gavel.

Booker said Trump has promised to make the country safer, but argued that Patel's actions at the FBI have led to the opposite outcome.

"You have pushed out senior FBI agents with decades of knowledge and experience," Booker said. "In fact, this is the first time in FBI history that neither the director nor the deputy director have any experience with the FBI. You’ve shifted the agency’s priorities primarily to pursuing Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda."

Cory Booker and FBI Director Patel get into heated exchange over Trump policies

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"I believe you have made our country weaker and less safe," Booker said.

"You don’t get to say that America is not safer under this leadership … ," Patel responded. "America is safer because of the FBI."

Booker said he believes the U.S. is more vulnerable to a domestic or foreign attack because of Patel's "failures," and predicted that Patel won't hold the job as director for much longer. "Here’s the thing, Mr. Patel, I think you’re not going to be around long. ... I think this might be your last oversight hearing."

"Sir, that rant of false information does not bring this country together," Patel said, which prompted Booker to raise his voice at him.

The two then engaged in a yelling match, with Grassley banging his gavel to interrupt them, bringing the questioning to a halt.

"I announced at the beginning of this meeting that this back-and-forth, talking over each other, doesn't work," Grassley said. "And I said, if that happened, I asked Patel not to respond, and I was going to give him some time after the senator's time was up, to respond, and that he has the privilege to do that uninterrupted."

"I've watched him talk over us, and you've never once criticized him for us," Booker said to Grassley.

"He has been really disrespectful to senator after senator," Booker added before ultimately getting up from his chair and leaving the room.

Cory Booker and FBI Director Patel get into heated exchange over Trump policies

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At the hearing with Patel, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., laid blame on the left for rising political violence, saying, "Don't give me this both sides bulls---."

Schmitt raised the assassination last week of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, although the suspect's motives are unclear. He also mentioned the shooting of lawmakers at a congressional baseball practice in 2017, protests and rioting after the killing of George Floyd, and other incidents

Sen. Eric Schmitt during today's hearing. Jim Watson / AFP - Getty Images

Political violence has been perpetrated against both parties, including just months ago, when Democratic state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband were shot and killed in Minnesota.

"There can be no unity between good and evil," Schmitt said. "Somebody has to win this thing, and as a country, we have to absolutely reject it. And don't tell me it's both sides."

During a tense exchange with Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Patel denied that he has taken orders from Trump to fire people at the FBI.

Blumenthal referred to former FBI employees who allege they were fired at the White House's behest.

"You assured one of my colleagues that you would honor the internal review process at the FBI," Blumenthal said of Patel's confirmation hearings. "I’m not going to mince words. You lied to us."

"There is mounting evidence that these retaliatory firings were the result of direction from the White House," he added.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., pressed Patel as to whether the FBI knew if Epstein trafficked women to anyone else but himself.

"Himself," Patel responded. "There is no credible information. None. If there were, I would bring the case yesterday that he trafficked to other individuals. And the information we have, again, is limited."

Kennedy asked Patel if the FBI would release as much information about Epstein as possible.

"We will release everything we are legally permitted to do so," Patel said, referring to court orders that have limited the release of grand jury transcripts in the case. "We are continuing to work with the House on the subpoena request."

"I strongly encourage you to do that, Kash," Kennedy said. "This issue is not going to go away, and I think the essential question for the American people is this: They know that Epstein trafficked young women for sex to himself. They want to know who, if anyone else, he trafficked these young women to." 

During his questions for Patel, Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., emphasized his concern "about the rise in threats against members of our judiciary" and asked the FBI director how his team was addressing the issue.

Patel said he shares Coons' concerns, noting that the FBI had 35 open investigations into threats against judges.

Trump has publicly criticized judges who rule against him, raising concerns from critics about the safety and independence of the judiciary.

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., asked Patel if he's ever ordered that FBI employees be fired because they worked on investigations into Trump and the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

"The only way, generally speaking, an individual is terminated at the FBI is if they have violated their oath of office, violated the law, or failed to uphold the standards that we need them to have at the FBI," Patel said.

Coons noted that former FBI employees have alleged they were fired because of their work on probes into Trump.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., asked Patel about reports of chatbots having "sensual conversations with children" and instructing children on how to die by suicide.

Patels said that these situations have "been made a priority by the FBI because they are targeting children."

"What we're doing is treating any extension of generative AI as the criminal themselves," Patel said. He added that the FBI is also engaging with internet service providers to find ways to get the chatbots shut down.

Patel said during an exchange with Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., that the Discord chat in which the Kirk shooting suspect allegedly confessed was "leaked."

Patel said that it's an online gaming chat room "that the suspect participated in" and that the FBI is working to ensure that the information gathered is "held in an evidentiary posture that we could use in prosecution."

"We're also going to be investigating anyone and everyone involved in that Discord chat," he said.

Hawley noted that public reports say that the Discord thread had as many as 20 additional users.

Klobuchar asks Patel to help tone down rhetoric blaming sides for political violence

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Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., dedicated the first part of her remarks to the victims of recent shootings, including conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Democratic Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, and schoolchildren at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis.

The senator praised the quick response of law enforcement to the Annunciation shooting, saying that a father of an injured child told her that "there is absolutely no way his beautiful daughter would have survived if police hadn't been there."

"It is worth looking at for all of us," she said. "So my focus, on behalf of these parents, because I promised I would do this on Sunday, was just to figure out how we can do anything to stop this from happening again."

Klobuchar urged her colleagues to look into actions that would prevent future shootings, and she asked Patel to look into statistics about the ages of shooters and into strengthening background checks. She also asked if he believed an assault weapons ban would help reduce shootings.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., asked Patel if the FBI asks potential agents who they voted for in the 2024 presidential election as part of background investigations during the hiring process.

"Since when is who you voted for a proper question for agents to be asked?" Whitehouse said.

Several former FBI agents are suing the Trump administration, alleging they were fired for political reasons. The FBI and Justice Department have not commented publicly about the lawsuit.

Patel said he didn't know which allegation the senator was referring to, adding that "if it’s from an ongoing matter in litigation, I can’t discuss that. But what I can discuss is, I can only speak to the FBI background investigations. There are other background investigations conducted across the government."

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., pressed Patel on Jeanine Pirro's reputation at Fox News, where former colleagues reportedly called her a "reckless maniac" who was not trusted to be responsible.

"My question to you is, did that turn up in her background investigation?" Whitehouse asked, referring to the administration's vetting of her before she was nominated and confirmed to be the U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C.

"For any background investigation, senator, we do not discuss those publicly," Patel responded. "And for every background investigation, when there's adjudication, it is not made by me."

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse questions Patel today. Andrew Harnik / Getty Images

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said to Patel that there have been "adverse actions of various kinds taken against" 20 out of 60 people on his so-called enemies list.

"You’ve been in office for seven months. At that rate, you’ve got 14 months until you’ve hit all 60," Whitehouse said.

"That is an entirely inaccurate presupposition," Patel said. "I do not have an enemies list. You can continue to characterize it as you wish. The only actions we take, generally speaking, for personnel of the FBI, are ones based on merit and qualification and your ability to uphold your constitutional duty. You fall short, you don’t work there anymore."

Patel identified 60 alleged "deep state" actors in his 2023 book “Government Gangsters," though he has rejected the idea that it's an enemies list.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., asked what authority the Trump administration has to target boats from Venezuela in the Caribbean that the administration alleged were carrying drugs.

Patel said that mission is being led by the Department of Defense, adding, "I would defer the questions on legal authority to the attorney general and the department."

Asked if he believes that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro runs a narco-terrorism state, Patel said, "Based on the intelligence and prosecutions and investigations we are currently running, a large portion of the cocaine that exits out of South America, its origination point is in Venezuela."

Patel added, "Using trans-shipment points through Haiti, they’re using the navigable waterways in the Caribbean to the end-state delivery, which is the United States of America, and we will hunt down every single one of those narco-traffickers."

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., questioned Patel on the impact of social media on radicalization.

"After the assassination of Charlie Kirk, there seems to be one refrain from everybody, and that's about the effect of social media," Graham said. "Do you believe that social media is one of the instruments radicalizing America and inciting violence?"

Patel responded that his "belief is based on the data, and the data shows that social media is wildly out of control when it comes to radicalizing."

Graham expressed his agreement, then drew a distinction between free speech and speech limits on inciting violence or committing online crimes.

"Free speech doesn't allow you to go online and groom a child for sexual," Graham said, and Patel agreed.

"Free speech doesn't allow you to go on the internet and basically incite somebody to kill another person, right?" Graham said.

"Absolutely not," Patel responded.

Graham continued, saying that "just 'cause you're online doesn't give you a 'Get Out of Jail Free' card."

Sen. Graham pushes Patel to prevent violent rhetoric from spreading online

04:02

Durbin pressed Patel about why a memorandum that the DOJ and FBI released in July that stated there was no incriminating client list in the Epstein filed was unsigned.

"Would you prefer I use autopen?" joked Patel, playing on Trump's repeated criticisms of then-President Joe Biden's use of the autopen.

Durbin asked him again why it was unsigned.

"The memorandum had the insignia of the Department of Justice and the [Federal] Bureau of Investigation, and in our effort to secure transparency for the American people, because the three prior administrations had not done so, we conducted an exhaustive search of everything related to the Epstein cases."

Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Richard Durbin, D-Ill., listen to testimony by Patel today. Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Durbin pressed Patel on Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino's past promotion of conspiracy theories, including unfounded claims that a pipe bomb placed at the RNC and DNC on Jan. 6, 2021, was "an inside job."

"What is the evidence to suggest the pipe bombs placed outside of the DNC and RNC on Jan. 6 were an inside job?" Durbin asked.

Patel began by referring to his and Bongino's public service, prompting Durbin to butt in to ask him to respond to the question.

"I'm answering the question, you're questioning the integrity of the deputy director of the FBI and mine," Patel asserted, as Durbin repeated that he was asking whether the FBI had evidence to support Bongino's claim.

"The pipe bomb investigation is ongoing, and I'm not going into details of the pipe bomb investigation," Patel ultimately said. He added that he found "it disgusting that everyone and anyone would jettison" his and Bongino's public service.

Durbin and Patel clashed over allegations that the FBI director has used polygraph tests to determine an employee's loyalty.

The New York Times reported in July that the FBI has used lie detector tests to determine whether an employee has criticized Patel.

"FBI agents pledge of loyalty to the Constitution of the United States, not you personally," Durbin said. "What is the basis for requiring polygraph exams of your workforce and asking them if they've made negative comments about you?"

"I don't know what reports you're referring to, ranking member, and I reject any reporting that has false information in it, so I'm not going to respond to that," Patel said.

"As far as polygraphs go, generally, they're always, and always have been, utilized at the FBI to track down those that leak sensitive information and have unauthorized disclosures to the media, and we will continue to use them to ensure the integrity of the FBI," he added.

In response to Grassley asking what steps the FBI is taking to ensure the agency isn't weaponized, Patel said that they're only bringing cases "based in fact and law."

"Anyone that does otherwise will not be employed at the FBI," he said. "We are doing a prospective and retrospective analysis of individuals who may have weaponized the department and the agency, and as I've committed to you during my confirmation hearing and my conversations with you, this FBI will not be weaponized anymore in either side of the aisle."

The FBI under Patel's tenure has purged agents and full departments at the agency who were involved in Jan. 6 cases, which Trump had urged.

Last week, three former senior FBI officials sued Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi over their terminations, accusing the director of following a demand from the White House and the DOJ to keep his job.

Patel: 'Epstein was not a source for the FBI'

01:33

Grassley asked Patel whether convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein had ever been an intelligence asset for the U.S. or other foreign governments.

"Mr. Chairman, I can only speak to the FBI as the director of the FBI, and Mr. Epstein was not a source for the FBI," Patel responded.

Rumors have spread accusing the late financier and sex offender Epstein of being an intelligence asset of a government, though evidence has not been provided to support this claim.

Patel prepares to testify today. Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

Patel brought up the Jeffrey Epstein case in his opening statement and said that the "original sin" in it was the way it was initially brought by Alex Acosta in 2006 when he was the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida.

"The original case involved a very limited search warrant, or set of search warrants, and didn’t take as much investigatory material it should have seized. If I were the FBI director then, it wouldn’t have happened," Patel said.

He took specific aim at Acosta's decision to allow Epstein to enter into a nonprosecution agreement (a move for which Acosta faced intense criticism when he was labor decretary during Trump's first term.)

"Still this administration, at the direction of President Trump, has done more to turn over all the credible information we are legally able to do so, and we will continue to work with Congress to achieve that end," he said.

Patel discusses investigation into assassination of Charlie Kirk at Senate hearing

02:49

In his opening statement, Patel provided a timeline of the FBI's investigation into Kirk's shooting last week and defended his role in that probe.

He said that after the shooting, the FBI began conducting extensive interviews and cellphone analysis and flew out evidence response teams, hostage rescue teams and evidence technicians who collected evidence and flew back to Washington, D.C., to laboratories for analyses.

Patel noted that it was at his direction that the FBI eventually released new video of the suspect, as well as enhanced photos of the man.

Grassley attacked former FBI Director Christopher Wray, a Trump nominee, several times in his opening statement, including that he left Patel an agency "infected with politics."

"I'm going to provide examples of that today, including making public new whistleblower records," Grassley said. The Iowa Republican also praised Patel for agreeing to 10-minute rounds of questioning, which he said was more than Wray had accepted during his appearances before the committee.

Grassley also attacked former FBI Director James Comey for not pursuing charges related to Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server.

He noted that they're meeting in the aftermath of Kirk's death, the shootings of Minnesota lawmakers, school shootings and the murder of a Ukrainian refugee in North Carolina.

Durbin blasted Patel during his opening remarks as "arguably the most partisan FBI director ever," citing his past rhetoric about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and what he said were Patel’s false criticisms of the bureau being weaponized by the previous administration.

"Director Patel has installed mega loyalists as political appointees in key career positions, including conspiracy theorist Dan Bongino as FBI deputy director," Durbin said, adding it was "the first time in the history of the FBI that this position has not been held by a career FBI agent."

Durbin criticized what he said were Patel's implementation of "loyalty tests," "polygraph exams," and "an unprecedented purge of FBI officials." He also slammed Patel's handling of the manhunt for Kirk's killer, saying he "sparked mass confusion by incorrectly claiming on social media" shortly after the shooting on Wednesday that a subject was in custody, only to walk that back a short time later. Ultimately, a 22-year-old suspect was arrested on Friday.

"Mr. Patel was so anxious to take credit for finding Mr. Kirk’s assassin that he violated one of the basics of effective law enforcement: at critical stages of an investigation, shut up and let the professionals do their job," Durbin said.

Durbin asserted that the U.S. was enduring a "similar period of division and political violence" as the 1960s.

"All of us in public life, on both sides of the aisle have a responsibility to bring down the temperature and to work to unite the American people," he said.

Durbin calls Patel ‘most partisan FBI director ever’

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The hearing has begun. Patel and the top Republican and Democrat will deliver opening remarks before going into questions.

FBI Director Kash Patel is sworn in today. Andrew Harnik / Getty Images

Patel will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee today in a high-profile hearing that comes as Patel faces increased scrutiny over his handling of Charlie Kirk's killing.

Each senator on the committee will have the opportunity to ask Patel questions during what is expected to be an hourslong hearing. Opening remarks are expected to kick off at 9 a.m.

Minnesotans will head to the polls today for a special election to fill the state House seat held by Melissa Hortman, who was killed alongside her husband in June.

Hoffman had previously served as the Minnesota House speaker, and her killing propelled a national conversation about political violence.

Authorities have described the attack as a "politically motivated assassination." The suspect, Vance Boelter, also shot state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife in a separate attack that night. The Hoffmans survived.

The outcome of the election will determine control of the chamber, in which Republicans hold a one-seat majority.

Former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan — who served as a Republican but publicly switched parties to become a Democrat last month — jumped into the race today to become Georgia’s next governor.

“Georgians deserve leaders with the courage to take on Donald Trump and do what’s right,” Duncan said in a statement announcing his campaign. “As Georgia’s first Democratic governor in 28 years, I will stand up to Trump and his yes men in our state while bringing down the costs of childcare, health care, and housing so every Georgia family is in the best position possible. That’s what Georgia deserves.”

Read the full story here.

Trump filed a federal defamation lawsuit yesterday against The New York Times, four of its reporters and Penguin Random House over coverage of his 2024 campaign.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, which covers the area where Trump resides outside the White House, accused the newspaper of attempting to ruin his reputation as a businessman, sink his campaign and prejudice judges and juries against him in coverage of his campaign.

Read the full story here.

WASHINGTON — FBI Director Kash Patel is likely to face intense scrutiny during two congressional hearings this week amid questions about his leadership of the FBI and his handling of the investigation into conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination.

Patel is set to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee today and the House Judiciary Committee tomorrow for previously scheduled oversight hearings that will dive into his tenure at the FBI, which has experienced high-level departures and the creation of a co-deputy director position that was filled this week by former Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who will work alongside Deputy Director Dan Bongino, Patel’s fellow ex-podcaster.

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LONDON — Trump enjoys spectacle, but this is not what Britain had in mind.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer fought to offer Trump a second state visit starting tomorrow — an unprecedented flourish meant to bolster Starmer’s authority and flatter the American leader at a crucial moment for the United Kingdom and its allies.

Instead, Trump will arrive in a fractious Britain to meet with political leaders beset by long-running discontent and royals navigating family feuds.

Read the full story here.