(WASHINGTON) — FBI Director Kash Patel kicked off two days of questioning on Tuesday from congressional committees about his tenure leading the FBI so far. He’s also facing questions about the assassination of conservative activist and influencer Charlie Kirk last week.
In his appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday, Patel addressed his handling of the Kirk investigation — something he faced criticism for after he shared on social media at one point that a suspect was in custody, but then had to backtrack an hour and a half later.
Ranking Member Dick Durbin, a Democrat, slammed Patel during his opening remarks on Tuesday, saying Patel sparked “mass confusion” in his posts about Kirk’s killing. Patel stood by his performance, touting the fact that Kirk’s suspected shooter was caught in less than 36 hours.
Patel said he directed authorities to release the photo of the suspect, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, in the Kirk shooting. Kirk was killed in Utah on Wednesday and Robinson was apprehended after his father recognized him in photographs released by authorities, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said on Friday. His father told Robinson to turn himself in, with the 22-year-old initially saying no, but later changing his mind, officials said.
Patel contends this only happened because he ordered “against all law enforcement recommendations,” as he said on X on Saturday, the release of video and enhanced photos of the suspect.
“We cannot do our job without the American public and credible reporting in the media,” Patel said. “And that’s why Tyler Robinson is in custody today about to face charges.”
Patel addressed criticism that he has faced for how he handled the investigation on “Fox & Friends” on Monday morning.
“I was telling the world what the FBI was doing as we were doing it. I continue to do it. I challenge anyone out there to find a director who has been more transparent and more willing to work the media with high profile cases or any cases that the FBI [is] handling.”
For his part, President Donald Trump is standing behind Patel. Asked for his thoughts on Patel’s performance Tuesday morning, Trump said he supports Patel and that he has “confidence in everyone in the administration.”
Patel is facing questions on a host of other issues while he has been at the helm of the FBI, including the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
The Trump administration has been dealing with blowback it received from MAGA supporters for its decision to not release more materials related to the investigation into Epstein, the wealthy financier and convicted sex offender who died by suicide in jail in 2019.
Epstein, whose private island estate was in the U.S. Virgin Islands, has long been rumored to have kept a “client list” of celebrities and politicians, which right-wing influencers have baselessly accused authorities of hiding.
The Justice Department and FBI announced in July that they had found no evidence that Epstein kept a client list after several top officials like Patel, before joining the administration, had themselves accused the government of shielding information regarding the case.
Patel squarely blamed former U.S. Attorney and Labor Secretary Alex Acosta, who initially oversaw the Epstein investigation. Acosta resigned amid controversy over his role in a 2008 plea deal with Epstein and defended his decision, saying his goal “was straightforward” and included putting Epstein behind bars.
“I’m here to testify that the original sin in the Epstein case was the way it was initially brought by Mr. Acosta back in 2006. 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,” Patel said. “If I were the FBI director, then it wouldn’t have happened.”
Patel testified that Epstein was not an FBI informant as some have claimed.
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
