Democratic lawmakers angered by FBI Director Kash Patel’s reported use of taxpayer money for private jets and other travel perks have gained an unexpected ― and powerful ― ally.
A member of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), and and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who is the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, confirmed Thursday that they’d launched an investigation into Patel’s use of public resources.
The pair said in a press release that they’d obtained a May 5 letter sent to Patel by Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) in which Grassley “raised serious concerns” about the FBI director’s “use of government aircraft, his purchase of a fleet of luxury BMW vehicles, and whether he has reimbursed taxpayers for personal travel.”
An MS Now report published Thursday contains excerpts from Grassley’s letter.
“For each trip where you used an FBI aircraft for personal travel, have you reimbursed the FBI as required by law? If yes, please provide the records,” he wrote to Patel, according to the report.
Elsewhere, he urged the FBI director to “please explain why you decided to purchase BMW vehicles instead of Chevy Suburbans.”
In their own letter to Patel, dated July 8, Durbin and Raskin thanked Grassley for “raising these concerns, which mirror those raised repeatedly by House and Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats.”
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They also referenced a well-documented instance in which Patel participated in what government officials described as a “VIP snorkel” excursion ― by all accounts, a leisure activity and not a professional obligation ― while visiting Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor last year.
“Your VIP snorkeling experience in Hawaii was not an isolated incident,” they wrote. “You frequently demand special perks on ‘official’ trips around the globe, such as a taxpayer-funded helicopter tour during your multi-country jaunt across East Asia and other recreational activities like jet skiing.”
“Your jet-setting and the lack of justification for these trips are ‘out of control,’” they continued, before noting that a new FBI attaché in Wellington, New Zealand, may have “opened in part to justify a sightseeing trip you took there.”
“The American people deserve an FBI Director focused on keeping us all safe rather than jet-setting to check off personal bucket list items,” they wrote.
The FBI seemingly responded to the letter on Thursday by sharing an infographic on X that detailed Patel’s “personal travel and cost savings.” It also claimed he’s taken fewer trips in comparison to former FBI Directors Christopher Wray and James Comey.
“DESPITE what the lying media wants you to believe. This FBI is more efficient and effective in every way,” the post read. “We are just getting started.”
Patel has faced a flurry of scrutiny in recent months following an April report published by The Atlantic that detailed allegations of his “excessive drinking and unexplained absences.” The FBI director responded to the report by filing a $250 million lawsuit against the outlet, alleging defamation.
He’s also been hit with criticism over reports he’d arranged for his girlfriend, musician Alexis Wilkins, to be escorted in her travels by SWAT team members to shield her from potential threats.
After The New York Times published its report on Wilkins’ security detail in February, the outlet said the FBI had opened an investigation into its reporter, Elizabeth Williamson, to determine whether her “aggressive reporting techniques crossed lines of stalking.”