Durbin alleged that Patel’s orders were being enforced through the White House deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, along with the acting attorney general, Emil Bove, and a newly formed FBI director’s advisory team (DAT).
The timeline conflicts with a response Patel gave to a Senate judiciary committee hearing at his confirmation hearing on 30 January, when he was asked by another Democratic, Cory Booker, if he was aware of moves to punish or remove FBI agents involved with investigations into Trump.
“Although Mr Patel is President Trump’s nominee to be FBI Director, he is still a private citizen with no role in government,” Durbin wrote.
A senior Democrat has accused Kash Patel, Donald Trump’s controversial nominee as FBI director, of having already secretly orchestrated a purge of the bureau’s agents even as senators debate whether to confirm him in the post.
Dick Durbin, the ranking Democrat on the Senate judiciary committee, said he had “highly credible information” that Patel had given orders to sack senior personnel when he had no power to do so as a private citizen – directly contradicting testimony he had given at a confirmation hearing.
