In light of concerns he won’t be independent of President Donald Trump and sue the government’s alleged enemies and members of the so-called serious condition, Patel’s individual legal issues, including a 2001 young public intoxication arrest in Richmond, Virginia, and a 2020 foolish driving charge that was reduced in Arlington, make his case more difficult for senators.
According to a copy of the survey that Patel provided to the Judiciary Committee prior to Thursday’s hearing, Patel was not required to respond to the allegations.
However, court records show that former Justice Department attorney Patel was fined$ 200 and required to pay legal charges after being found guilty guilty of driving while at least 20 mph over the speed limit in 2019. He later pleaded guilty to a reduced sentence in 2020.
The Washington Examiner’s request for comment was not returned by a representative for Patel, the former chief of staff to acting acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller, and a top adviser to acting acting director of national intelligence Richard Grenell. Republicans have repeatedly defended Patel, citing the difficult histories of the later Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy and the infamous 1969 Chappaquiddick affair as examples.
” Kash is a brilliant lawyer, inspector, and ‘ America First ‘ warrior who has spent his career exposing problem, defending fairness, and protecting the American people”, Trump wrote in his speech nominating Patel. This FBI does put an end to the growing legal underworld in America, ending the immigrant criminal gangs, and stop the evil cross-border drug and human trafficking.
In a separate statement after meeting Patel, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA ) argued he understands” transparency brings accountability, and it’s badly needed at the FBI”.
Republicans, such as Senate Judiciary Committee part Thom Tillis (R-NC), told the Washington Examiner he was “absolutely” conscious of Patel’s 2001 young having imprisonment, made four days before his 21st birthday, but it had not changed his mind.
” I have yet to see anyone create that”, Tillis said. ” I am aware of something when he was younger, where he may have been young eating. But remind people to bring the information, right”?
In addition to his run-ins with the laws, Patel’s public statements describe a University of Richmond and Pace University-educated attorney whose skills have been criticized by himself, yet if he was being self-deprecating, and courts, though FBI managers do not need to be counsel, nor good people.
” I got bad grades in law school”, Patel wrote in his 2023 book Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for Our Democracy. ” I spent years as an unknown public defender. I ended up being the lead investigator for the biggest political scandal in American history, and I’ve been on the front lines for the last seven years in the Deep State’s struggle against the American system of self-government.
Patel first attracted Trump’s acclaim when he served as a senior counsel for the Republican-led House Intelligence Committee‘s investigation into the FBI’s alleged collusion between Trump and Russia, which Patel describes in his book as the biggest scandal. Patel crafted an infamous four-page memo in 2018 exposing flaws in the FBI’s warrant applications to surveil former Trump aide Carter Page for the bureau’s investigation, and Trump and his allies used the memo to undermine the FBI’s entire investigation.
In the years that followed, Patel has remained loyal to Trump, and while Senate Republicans have criticized him, his nomination has not been without controversy.
His brash and outspoken personality is highlighted by the more than 1, 000 interviews he has conducted with media over the past five years, which are primarily right-wing, according to his Senate questionnaire. Democrats have vehemently opposed Patel’s nomination, pointing to conspiracies he has amplified during some of those interviews, including QAnon and the claim that the FBI planned the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Dick Durbin (D-IL), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, has determined that Patel is unqualified to serve as FBI director.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), another Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, told the Washington Examiner his party is also “aware of some of the charges”.
” We are looking into them and possibly others”, he said. ” Any criminal charges are certainly relevant. Even without any criminal charges, he is obviously unqualified and unprepared for this extraordinarily important role, despite the fact that I don’t know whether they are all by themselves disqualifying. And the criminal charges may be “additive,” in my opinion.
According to former Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler, Patel’s two charges “add additional layers to already existing concerns regarding his leadership credentials and character that will need to be addressed.”
Attorney general nominee Pam Bondi was questioned about Patel during her confirmation hearing this month, and she countered by citing Patel’s breadth of legal practice. However, Patel hasn’t always praised his own legal career.
Patel described himself as a “recovering lawyer” and admitted to being” not good at that crap” during a 2021 episode of the Drinkin’ Bros podcast about Fight With Kash, his free speech legal offense fund.
He said,” I got smart guys that I met along the way that will look at that for free.” ” They’ll be like, I think you got a case against Twitter, Facebook, the]New York ] Times, small media publication, whatever, and then I’ll cut the check out of Fight With Kash for their legal fees”.
In a case involving whether the president should be on the 2024 ballot as a candidate, despite allegations that he participated in an insurrection on January 6, 2021, under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, Trump attorney Jonathan Shaw used the same phrase when questioning Patel as a friendly witness in 2023 during the Colorado federal district court trial.
” I have not practiced law in maybe close to a decade”, Patel said at the time.
According to Judge Susan Wallace, she ordered Jena Griswold, the state’s attorney, to keep Trump on the ballot and determined that Patel was a “untrustworthy witness.”
” His testimony regarding Trump authorizing 10, 000-20, 000 National Guardsmen is not only illogical ( because Trump only had authority over about 2, 000 National Guardsmen ) but completely devoid of any evidence in the record”, Wallace wrote. Further, [ Jan. 6 Committee chief investigative counsel Tim ] Heaphy refuted his testimony regarding the refusal to release his deposition and to request a public hearing. Heaphy was a much more reliable witness.
Wallace added that she “did not give any weight to Mr. Patel’s testimony other than as evidence that the]Jan. 6] Select Committee interviewed many of Trump’s supporters as part of its extensive investigation”.
Patel has also remained in the public eye, in part because he has filed lawsuits against the media that have helped Trump’s supporters in the courtroom but have failed.
According to Virginia court records, he unsuccessfully brought defamation suits against href=”https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/politico/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener” title=””>Politico and the New York Times for$ 44 million in 2019. Patel referred to href=”https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/politico/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener” title=””>Politico as “weaponized media” in his complaints and accused the New York Times of fabricating information about his dealings with Trump.  ,
According to the same records, Patel sued CNN for$ 50 million, alleging that it made up lies and promoted” Democratic Party political operations.” A judge dismissed the suit, but Patel is appealing the decision.
In a 2023 defamation case Patel brought against Jim Stewartson, co-host of the Radicalized Pod, Nevada District Court Judge Andrew Gordon chastised Patel’s filings, contending his certificate of interested parties “did not comply” civil procedure rules.  ,
” I urge plaintiffs ‘ counsel to read the rule carefully, as it was amended six months ago”, Gordon wrote in his order.
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
On Thursday, Patel will appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Senate Democrats are likely to press him on a range of issues, including what he has been accused of having an “enemies list” of his foes, his scrutiny of the organization he hopes to lead, and rumors that he broke protocols during an attempted hostage rescue mission in 2020.  ,
The majority of Republicans on the committee have so far either endorsed Patel or indicated they are in favor of his nomination. Patel is able to lose three Republican seats in the Senate.
