Democrat Senator's 'Epstein Files' Revelation On Kash Patel Leaves Republicans Stunned At Hearing

[0:00] Director Patel has also played a key role in the Trump administration's cover-up of the Epstein files. [0:06] Director Patel diverted more than a thousand FBI agents from their critical missions [0:12] to work on 24-hour shifts reviewing every page of the Epstein files. [0:18] These personnel were instructed to flag any records in which President Trump's name was mentioned. [0:24] That's Senator Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, [0:29] accusing FBI Director Cash Patel of helping cover up the Epstein files. [0:34] It's one of the most serious charges in a long opening statement, [0:38] delivered at what Durbin says will likely be his last FBI oversight hearing. [0:42] Republicans say Patel is cleaning up a bureau that was turned against President Trump. [0:48] Durbin says Patel has turned it into a political weapon. [0:52] So what's actually on the record? Let's look at the statement. This is the Capitol brief. [0:59] Senator Rivera. Thanks Chairman Grassley for holding this [1:02] hearing at this consequential moment in the history of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. [1:06] Let me say at the outset that we have just heard again an introduction by the chairman that gave [1:12] reference to Crossfire Hurricane and a lot of things that are in the history of the Department [1:18] of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Over a year ago, all the Democrats on this committee [1:24] said stop giving these speeches and bring the people before us to testify under oath as to [1:29] what actually happened. Jack Smith, the special counsel, who is a constant reference point when [1:36] it comes to this grand conspiracy, has volunteered for more than a year to appear before this committee [1:41] under oath and answer the questions. What more could we ask of him? And yet the Republican majority [1:47] in this committee refuses to bring him. Perhaps in a few weeks, when we've been promised he will show [1:53] up, they can start by explaining why did you wait a year if we're talking about a grand conspiracy. [1:59] Jack Smith, the special counsel, is now under or will be under oath before this committee. [2:03] Each of us will have a chance to ask pertinent questions to clear it up. But for some reason, [2:09] the decision was made at some level to let this controversy fester rather than to bring the [2:14] person in who can actually answer the questions. This hearing couldn't come at a more important time, [2:20] 25 years after 9-11, the deadliest terrorist attack in history. The FBI at that point had to [2:28] immediately adapt to a changed world. Do you realize that on 9-11, when information was gathered about [2:35] the potential terrorists, it was sent to the FBI bureaus across the United States, not by any email [2:42] device or any computer device, but hand mailed because the FBI computer capability on 9-11 was [2:51] below the expertise level of Radio Shack. It was that bad. From modernizing technology to integrating [2:58] agents and analysts rather than silo them, the bureau built out capabilities and developed immense [3:04] expertise across its workforce after that terrible event 25 years ago. Director Robert Mueller led the FBI [3:12] at this tumultuous time. He, more than any single individual, was responsible for modernizing the FBI [3:20] to combat the threats we face in the 21st century. I was proud to work with him on a bipartisan basis. [3:26] I knew little or nothing about computer technology. I called him and said when I heard about the [3:31] Radio Shack comparison, it's clear we need to do something to modernize technology. If you'll lead in that [3:37] area, I'll try to help. And that's what I did. We didn't always agree, but I always respected him. [3:43] Bob Mueller was a patriot and a person of honesty and integrity. Modernizing the FBI has not been an [3:50] easy process. Balancing growing focus on national security and terrorism prevention efforts with [3:57] traditional work investigating white-collar crime and corruption has taken a lot of time and effort. [4:04] And over the years, the FBI, as it gained more authority at times in history, misused it. [4:11] There is still work to be done to earn public trust and ensure the most powerful federal investigative [4:17] agency in the world only engages in lawful operations. Continuing to meet new threats [4:25] while tackling these challenges requires steady, committed leadership from someone who understands [4:31] the stakes and has the humility to lead as a servant of the public like Bob Mueller. Sadly for the American [4:39] people, the current director does not meet the standards. Some context first. Robert Mueller took [4:46] over the FBI just one week before September 11th and led it for 12 years through its shift from crime [4:53] fighting to counter-terrorism. Durbin worked with him on modernizing the bureau and holds him up as [4:59] the standard. He also raises Jack Smith. Democrats have pushed for Smith to testify under oath before this [5:07] committee and Durbin says he has been promised that will happen within weeks. Republicans, [5:13] led by Chairman Grassley, point to cases like Crossfire Hurricane and Arctic Frost as proof the FBI [5:21] was weaponized against Trump. That's the fight at the heart of this hearing. Mr. Patel is the least [5:27] qualified and most partisan FBI director in our nation's history. He does not have the judgment, [5:34] experience or temperament of Director Mueller. Before he was confirmed, Mr. Patel falsely claimed [5:42] in public that the FBI, quote, was planning January 6th for a year, close quote. He compiled an enemies [5:50] list of public servants he called, quote, government gangsters, close quote, who he promised to target [5:57] if he was confirmed as head of the FBI. Despite the warnings of Senate Democrats during his confirmation [6:04] hearing, our Republican colleagues chose to ignore these facts, to prioritize President Trump's [6:11] retribution campaign over the safety of Americans. And they joined on a partisan basis, confirming [6:17] Director Patel to lead the FBI. Under Mr. Patel's failed leadership, decades of efforts to modernize and [6:26] reform the FBI are being undone. And the bureau has been reshaped as a political weapon against [6:33] President Trump's political enemies and a shield to protect the president and his mega loyalists, [6:39] not the American people. Director Patel has been the central figure pushing the so-called grand conspiracy, [6:47] diverting FBI resources to inane, debunked conspiracy theories that the, quote, deep state has been [6:54] targeting President Trump since his first campaign. The deep state, characterized by some as worse than [7:01] Watergate, secret and insidious. And yet the majority on this committee refuses to call Jack Smith as [7:09] special counsel, under oath to answer questions about this so-called grand conspiracy. Now hold on, [7:16] because this is where the statement gets personal. Durbin calls Patel the least qualified and most [7:22] partisan FBI director in history. That's an opinion, and Republicans strongly reject it. What is on the [7:29] record? Before his confirmation, Patel published a book with a list of officials he described as [7:36] members of the deep state, and he was confirmed early in 2025 by 51 votes to 49, with two Republicans [7:44] voting against him. His supporters say an outsider is exactly what the bureau needed. Patel will get his [7:51] chance to answer under oath. The question is whether the evidence matches the rhetoric on either side. [7:58] Director Patel is also wasting FBI resources to relitigate the 2020 presidential election. How [8:05] many times have nominees who are judges, respected professionals, professors come before this committee [8:12] and refuse to acknowledge what every eighth grader in America knows? President Trump lost the 2020 [8:17] election to Joe Biden by seven million votes. That's simple. It's obvious. It's a matter of fact. [8:24] And yet these nominees refuse to acknowledge that reality because this is part of the great conspiracy [8:30] theory that Trump never loses anything. To weaponize the FBI against president's opponents, [8:36] Director Patel has overseen a purge of thousands, thousands of law enforcement officials. From analysts [8:43] and agents to the most senior leadership, the bureau has been deprived of tens of thousands of years [8:49] of cumulative experience of these agents. Director Patel has installed MAGA loyalists as political [8:56] appointees in key career positions. And he imposed, even imposed loyalty tests requiring FBI officials to [9:03] undergo polygraphs to say whether they ever criticize him. And at the same time, thousands of agents have [9:10] been reassigned from their primary criminal and national security mission to immigration enforcement. With a [9:17] number of FBI personnel working on immigration matters increasing by over 2,000 percent as of last [9:24] September. And let me ask you, where are the worst of the worst? Overwhelmingly, the people who are being [9:30] detained and deported have no criminal record whatsoever. In total, over 9,000 FBI personnel, 25 percent of [9:39] the bureau worked on immigration cases between January and September of last year. As part of this shift in [9:45] resources, Department of Justice shut down 23,000 criminal cases in the first six months of the Trump [9:52] administration. Look, a few of these points are simple facts. Joe Biden won the 2020 election by about seven [9:59] million votes and no court found fraud that would have changed the result. The rest are claims the [10:04] committee should test. Durbin says thousands of agents and analysts have been pushed out, that polygraphs were used to check [10:12] loyalty and that a quarter of the bureau's personnel worked on immigration cases last year. The administration [10:18] says immigration enforcement is a public safety priority and that it's removing officials who abuse [10:24] their power. Those numbers matter because every agent moved to one mission is an agent taken from another. [10:32] To replace these career professionals he purged, Director Patel has gutted hiring standards. Today will be his [10:40] opportunity under oath to answer some basic questions about the standards being used for new FBI agents. [10:47] In an interview in July he claimed the FBI is, quote, losing too many qualified candidates, his words, [10:54] to the rigors of requirements from yesteryear, end of quote. What are those so-called obsolete requirements? [11:01] According to a memo issued in June, the FBI has removed from its list of automatic hiring disqualifications, [11:10] theft from an employer, sex solicitation, and bestiality. To add insult to injury, Director Patel is trying [11:19] to take credit for the successful efforts of state and local law enforcement to reduce violent crime. [11:25] The reality is that violent crime spiked during COVID-19 pandemic and has been steadily, consistently [11:32] declining since 2022. Every member of this committee knows that our local police, state and local, [11:39] not the FBI, are primarily responsible for combating violent crime. Don't believe me? Look at the data. [11:46] Cities where the National Guard or other federal forces were not deployed had a 2025 drop in violent crime, [11:53] similar to cities where they were deployed. It is misleading and offensive for this administration, [11:59] which has coddled January 6 rioters, giving them full unconditional pardons from the President. [12:05] This is one of his first acts of office. This administration has ended the career of thousands [12:11] of professional FBI agents because they didn't meet some political test and blocked hundreds of [12:17] millions of dollars in grants to local law enforcement to claim credit for our brave frontline police [12:23] officers. That is not backing the blue by any standard. In fact, the cities where federal forces were [12:29] deployed or experienced widespread abuses of constitutional rights of their residents, [12:35] including multiple lethal shootings of American citizens. The FBI is charged with investigating [12:42] the deadly use of force by federal agents, but it has turned its back on its duties under Director Patel. [12:49] Instead, the Department of Homeland Security is now the primary investigator of whether its own poorly [12:54] vetted and trained employees violated the law during ill-conceived missions. [13:01] Here's a distinction that matters a lot. Durbin says the FBI dropped several automatic [13:06] disqualifications for new agents, citing a June memo. Patel says the Bureau was losing good candidates [13:13] to outdated requirements. Then there's crime. Violent crime did spike during the pandemic, [13:19] and FBI data shows it has been falling since around 2022 under both administrations. So credit is [13:27] genuinely hard to assign, and local police do most of the work. On federal shootings, the question is the [13:34] same one raised all hearing long. Who independently investigates federal agents when force is used? [13:41] That answer should never depend on politics. Director Patel has also played a key role in the Trump [13:47] administration's cover-up of the Epstein files. Director Patel diverted more than a thousand [13:54] FBI agents from their critical missions to work on 24-hour shifts reviewing every page of the Epstein files. [14:02] These personnel were instructed to flag any records in which President Trump's name was mentioned. [14:09] That review ended in an unsigned memorandum from the Department of Justice and FBI simply claiming, [14:15] quote, there is no incriminating client list in the Epstein files, close quote. [14:22] Director Patel still has not responded to our letter from more than a year ago, [14:27] asking about his personal role in this cover-up. But we now know that Director Patel reportedly joined [14:34] in a meeting at the White House Situation Room about how to protect the President from fallout [14:39] from this cover-up of the Epstein files. Director Patel failed to ensure the Trump administration [14:45] actually released as they required everything about Epstein and his co-conspirators. This has [14:53] come at the expense of the American people who deserve transparency. And it has also been the [14:58] expense of the survivors of Epstein's abuse, who deserve justice and accountability. So today we find [15:05] ourselves in a position where the FBI is expending immense resources to protect President Trump [15:10] politically and deliver retribution to his enemies, but is diverting resources away from protecting the [15:16] safety, security, and rights of ordinary Americans and their families. Mr. Chairman, this will likely [15:23] be my last FBI oversight hearing as I'm leaving the Senate. I came of age during the 60s when J. Edgar [15:29] Hoover and FBI lawlessly targeted political opponents and civil rights and labor leaders. I was proud to be [15:37] part of bipartisan efforts over the many years to ensure the FBI protected both security and freedom [15:44] of the American people. I'm disappointed this committee has stood by since January 2025, as that [15:50] work has been undone. I look forward to a day, hopefully in the very near future, when this committee will [15:55] fulfill its duty to hold Director Patel accountable for his leadership. Thank you. On the Epstein files, [16:02] here's what we know. In July 2025, the Justice Department and the FBI released an unsigned memo [16:09] saying there was no incriminating client list, which angered many of the president's own supporters. [16:15] Congress later passed a law requiring the files to be released, and critics in both parties say the [16:21] release has fallen short. Durbin's claim that agents were told to flag every mention of Trump is serious, [16:28] and Patel should answer it directly, under oath. Here's where I land. The survivors deserve the [16:34] full record, whoever it embarrasses. That's not about party loyalty. It's about accountability. [16:41] Now I want to hear from you. Is Durbin right about Kash Patel's FBI, or is this partisan theater? [16:47] Tell me in the comments and give me your reasoning, not just which political team you support. And [16:53] subscribe to The Capital Brief for more congressional hearings and commentary that looks beyond the [16:58] headlines.