The criticism towards FBI Director Kash Patel over the mishandled investigation into Charlie Kirk’s assassin has deepened following revelations of his expletive-filled outburst aimed at his staff for their failures.
Patel faced renewed scrutiny after it was revealed that suspect Tyler Robinson was ultimately apprehended for allegedly murdering Kirk, 31, turned in by his own family.
Robinson’s arrest Thursday night came after a 33-hour manhunt in which two other men were wrongfully detained.
This confusion initially led Patel to mistakenly claim that an arrest had been made on Wednesday, a statement he later had to retract. It was disclosed that he had chosen to dine at a high-end NYC restaurant during critical moments of the search.
Robinson, 22, was only arrested after his father reportedly recognized him in surveillance footage.
Fox News’s Laura Ingraham branded the calamitous search ‘unreal’.
In response, Patel held a fiery conference call with over 200 FBI agents on Thursday morning, firmly stating that he would put an end to any more ‘Mickey Mouse operations,’ as reported by The New York Times.
By Saturday, Patel seemed pressed under the ongoing tension and tweeted that authorities successfully apprehended the alleged attacker within 33 hours, attributing the success to his ‘bold strategy,’ which received commendations.
Backlash toward FBI Director Kash Patel over the bungled search for Charlie Kirk’s assassin intensified over the last few days
Patel seems to be under pressure as he praised the 33-hour capture of the alleged shooter through his ‘bold strategy’ on Twitter.
Steve Bannon, a former Donald Trump Administration advisor, criticized his performance at the press conference on the investigation
‘Against all law enforcement recommendations, we demanded the video footage and enhanced stills of the suspect be released to the public,’ Patel explained.
‘Robinson’s father, who ultimately turned him in to authorities, told law enforcement that he recognized his son in that released video,’ he wrote.
Earlier in the day, President Donald Trump waded into the debacle to defend Patel by re-sharing a post on Truth Social, which praised his decisive action during the probe.
But Chris Rufo, a conservative activist, said the faux pas should cause the Trump Administration to ‘reassess’ if Patel is right for the job.
‘He performed terribly in the last few days,’ he wrote on X. ‘We would be wise to take a moment and ask whether Kash Patel has what it takes to get this done.’
One law enforcement official described the ‘horrific event’ of Kirk’s murder as a clear demonstration of Patel’s ‘public inability to meet the moment as a leader,’ according to NBC.
‘It was amateur hour,’ Senator Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, told HuffPost on Thursday.
‘He was doing a running commentary,’ he added. ‘Historically, the FBI keeps its mouth closed until it believes it’s the right time and the right message.’
Steve Bannon, a former Donald Trump Administration advisor, told The Hill that Patel’s performance at the press conference was lacking.
‘I don’t know why Kash flew out there, you know, thousands of miles, to give us: “Hey, working partnerships and our great partnership in Utah.” Okay, got that.’
President Donald Trump, on the other hand, seems to be supporting his FBI director.
He posted a link to a JustTheNews article on Truth Social, his social media platform, where experts praised Patel for his insistence on releasing the security footage.
Fox News’ Laura Ingraham calling the fumble ‘unreal’ after it was revealed the FBI had incorrectly detained two men leading Patel to incorrectly announce the suspect was in custody
Charlie Kirk was fatally shot on Wednesday at Utah Valley University
Patel was allegedly dining at Rao’s in New York City just hours after the shooting
FBI agents look at bushes during their frantic search for the shooter
White House Communication Director, Steven Cheung, told Fox News: ‘Anyone who doubts his resolve and dedication – especially when Charlie was such a close friend to him – simply is using this extremely sad moment in a disgusting act of political gamesmanship.’
Patel also took flak for dining at Rao’s thousands of miles away from the crime scene while an active investigation was happening before butchering the details.
Hours after the killing, Patel took to X to announce that the ‘subject’ in Kirk’s murder was finally ‘in custody.’
In a post shared at 6:21pm, the director wrote: ‘Thank you to the local and state authorities in Utah for your partnership with the FBI.’
But just over an hour later – at 7:59pm – Patel walked back his earlier statement, announcing that the subject ‘has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement.’
Two sources with knowledge of his movements revealed that he was actually in New York City that evening, dining at Rao’s – the high-end Italian hotspot that opens at 7pm promptly, as reported by NBC News.
In the chaotic aftermath of the assassination, 71-year-old George Zinn was cuffed and hauled away by police at the scene.
While rumors instantly swirled that Zinn may have been the shooting suspect, authorities quickly announced this was not the case and the culprit was still at large.
Police seen taking in a man as a suspect, who was later released
Robinson, a 22-year-old from Washington, Utah, and former student at Utah State University, was arrested Thursday night following a tip-off from his family members.
The FBI told Daily Mail on Saturday: ‘We will continue to be transparent with the American people with real-time updates as we are able.’
But the New York Times paints a far more chaotic picture behind the scene where Patel reportedly exploded at his staff during the conference call.
During the call, he allegedly ‘lost it’ on agents for bungling the investigation into Kirk’s killer, all while upending the probe himself by congratulating state and federal officials for wrongfully detaining a person as ‘the subject for the horrific shooting.’
He slammed employees for failing to provide timely updates and specifically blamed agents in Salt Lake City, claiming the local FBI didn’t show him a photo of the suspected killer for 12 hours.
But just weeks earlier, Patel had dismissed the head of the Salt Lake City FBI field office for reasons that remain unclear.
Patel and his deputy, Dan Bongino, admitted to feeling immense pressure to succeed and demonstrate their ability to lead a manhunt – a fear that, in the end, became a grim reality, according to the NYT.
These consecutive failures thrust Patel into hot water, fueling growing concerns about his ability to competently manage a case of such high-profile importance.
Tyler Robinson, 22, was taken into custody on Thursday evening after a 33-hour manhunt
President Donald Trump, on the other hand, seems to be supporting his FBI director. He posted a link to a JustTheNews article on Truth Social, his social media platform, where experts praised Patel for his insistence on releasing the security footage
The confusion and public backtracking in the immediate hours after Kirk’s death came on the heels of a lawsuit filed by three former FBI agents against the FBI, the Department of Justice, the White House, and senior officials – including Patel.
In the lawsuit, the former agents alleged they were targeted for refusing to carry out controversial directives – including firing disfavored colleagues and compiling lists of individuals who had worked on Trump-related investigations, according to The Independent.
Brian Driscoll, who served as the FBI’s acting director earlier this year, claimed that Patel suggested his superiors at the White House and DOJ, ‘directed him to fire anyone who they identified as having worked on a criminal investigation against President Donald J. Trump.’
The lawsuit also portrayed Patel and his deputy, Bongino, as out of their depth, politically motivated, and so fixated on social media that ‘it could risk outweighing more deliberate analyses of investigations,’ the outlet reported.
Both Patel and Bongino allegedly told FBI officials that they should be ‘posting more about their successful investigations and other “FBI wins” on social media,’ according to the suit.
