FBI Director Kash Patel battled with Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee during Wednesday’s hearing on oversight of the bureau.
The Jeffrey Epstein case was at the center of the clashes, with several Democrats accusing Patel of going back on his promise to release all available information to the public. Meanwhile, Patel argued that the FBI’s undisclosed information was either under some form of legal restriction or was abuse material, which he would not release.
‘So, you were sworn in as director more than 200 days ago. Now the ‘Black Book’ is under your direct control. So why haven’t you released the names of Epstein’s co-conspirators in the rape and sex trafficking of young women and girls?’ Ranking Member Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., asked.
Patel insisted that the late disgraced financier’s Rolodex had been released. However, Raskin was not satisfied with the answer and further challenged Patel, saying there was more material that had not been released. However, Patel pushed back and admonished the Biden and Obama administrations for not releasing more material on the case.
‘Everything that has been lawfully permitted to be released has been released,’ Patel said. He continued along this line as Raskin asked about other materials allegedly seized from Epstein’s home, with Patel repeating that anything that has been allowed to be uncovered by law has been released.
‘I’m not going to break the law to satisfy your curiosity,’ Patel said to Raskin, as the Democrat lawmaker continued to insist that the FBI director was sitting on information that should be made public.
The next Democrat to tangle with Patel was Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., who opened his line of questioning by asking whether President Donald Trump appeared in the Epstein files. Before his questioning continued, the tension between Goldman and Patel became clear as the FBI director asked the New York congressman to repeat his question. The lawmaker responded, ‘It’s not a complicated question,’ before repeating what he asked.
Goldman asked why videos or photos – perhaps any potentially related to Prince Andrew – that the FBI could release had not been made public. Patel rejected the question as being based on a ‘false’ premise.
The two continued to clash over exactly how much of the material had been released, with Goldman closing his time by saying, ‘You are hiding the Epstein files, Mr. Patel. You are part of the cover-up.’
‘Any allegations that I am part of a cover-up to protect child sexual trafficking in victims of human trafficking and sexual crimes is patently and categorically false,’ Patel said in response.
While Democrats battled with Patel, accusing him not only of covering up information on Epstein but also of being unqualified, Republicans retorted with praise for the changes implemented at the FBI. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, went through a litany of information that he credited Patel with making public.