Topline
FBI Director Kash Patel lashed out at critics and “baseless rumors” after days of backlash to his alleged private use of an FBI jet, as he faces increased scrutiny over a trip he took to watch his girlfriend perform at a professional wrestling event last weekend.
An FBI jet allegedly traveled to and from a pro wrestling event Patel’s girlfriend performed at last weekend, according to public flight records.
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Key Facts
In a lengthy post on X, Patel praised the FBI’s ongoing work and blasted both critics and “allies” who have not defended his work, insisting “your silence is louder than the clickbait haters.”
Patel was particularly incensed with critics of his girlfriend, Alexis Wilkins, whom he called “a rock-solid conservative and a country music sensation who has done more for this nation than most will in ten lifetimes,” without going into specifics about her accomplishments.
Wilkins sang the national anthem at a pro wrestling event at Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center last Saturday, and posted photos on social media of herself with the FBI director at the event.
Public flight records show an FBI jet traveling to and from the small airport in State College, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 25 for a trip that lines up with Wilkins’ performance.
The FBI’s assistant director for public affairs defended Patel’s jet use in a post on X, noting that the agency’s directors are legally barred from flying commercial, which Patel has also noted when pressed about his jet use in the past.
News Peg
On Friday, Patel fired Steven Palmer, a 27-year veteran of the bureau, after the director became incensed with social media posts and news coverage of his alleged jet use, Bloomberg Law reported citing three people familiar with the situation. Palmer was the former assistant deputy director of the FBI’s Critical Incident Response Group, which oversees the bureau’s pilots.
Key Background
Patel’s trip to State College blew up after it was noticed by Kyle Seraphin, a former FBI agent-turned podcaster who has been openly critical of the bureau and Patel. In August, Wilkins sued Seraphin for alleged defamation after he said she was a former Mossad agent and an Israeli spy in an August episode of his podcast.
Tangent
Patel’s response comes only days after his agency said it foiled an impending terror attack on Halloween in Michigan. Few details about the reportedly planned attack have been released, including the five arrested suspects’ identities, as of Sunday. Amir Makled, a lawyer representing one of the suspected plotters, told the Associated Press that authorities have not provided him with further details about the alleged attack plans. “I don’t believe that there’s anything illegal about any of the activity they were doing,” Makled told the news outlet, and described the suspects as a group of male gamers ages 16 through 20.