Democrat Skillfully Traps Kash Patel Over 'Lie' At Senate Hearing? — FBI,Whistleblowers,Trump,Midterm

[0:00] Director Patel, you and I were together at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial [0:06] Candlelight Vigil in May, along with law enforcement leaders and families of fallen officers [0:12] to honor the lives and sacrifices of over 360 officers who died in the line of duty, [0:18] including three from my state. Our first responders put their lives on the line every [0:24] day to keep their community safe. Earlier this month, we saw the courage of the brave men and [0:29] women of law enforcement firsthand. Police were on the scene within two minutes of receiving a 911 [0:35] call about shots fired in an apartment building and helped get people to hospitals and others to [0:41] safety, all while the officers being shot at themselves. Two Minnesotans were tragically killed, [0:48] but it would have been a lot more. I know the FBI was also on the scene, and I want to thank the [0:54] Minnesota FBI for their assistance, as well as the assistance and cooperation that they [1:00] gave us, both statewide and federally, with the horrific mass shooting at Annunciation Church [1:07] of 20-some people, as well as the murder of Melissa and Mark Hortman. As you know, this was all [1:12] in the last year. And I also hope that we will see that kind of cooperation in the ongoing [1:19] investigations of the killings of Alex Preddy and Renee Goode. I want to acknowledge the work of the [1:25] FBI agents and federal prosecutors in making sure that people who steal taxpayer money in Minnesota [1:32] are held accountable. I strongly support, we've talked about this, the prosecution of fraud cases by the [1:39] U.S. Attorney's Office in Minnesota. As you know, I've been involved with this office for years, and I fought [1:44] to ensure that the office had the resources to investigate the fraud and prosecute criminals to the [1:51] fullest extent of the law. I discussed the importance of these investigations and prosecutions [1:56] with Attorneys General Bondi and Blanche, as well as Assistant Attorney General for the National Fraud [2:03] Division, McDonald, both in private as well as at public hearings. And I hope I have your commitment [2:10] to continue providing resources for these investigations. Could you talk about your commitment to continue in [2:20] providing resources for the fraud investigations and give us some update? We know in Minnesota [2:27] that we've had over 98 people and 60 convictions indicted, convicted, with more to come. Could you [2:38] talk about the status, not just in Minnesota, but across the country? [2:42] Yes, Senator, and thanks for bearing through the rain in two years running at the law enforcement [2:46] memorial. So there's two types of fraud that I want to talk about real quick. In Minnesota specifically, [2:54] it's related to the Feeding Our Futures program, which racked up a fraud about a half a billion dollars [3:00] in value, which is money that was sent from basically the federal government through the state governments [3:04] through entities that were dispersed illegally in Minnesota. And as you said, we've indicted and charged [3:10] about 100 people, and I think majority of them have been convicted. The rest of that investigation is [3:14] ongoing. And we're going to continue to root out that fraud in Minnesota. And that fraud is led by, [3:19] you know, the president's anti-fraud task force. And we were just in Kansas City yesterday with the [3:25] vice president doing another version of that and highlighting the fact that the FBI had arrested [3:29] six of the most wanted fraudsters in the world in the last three months, totaling over $2 billion in [3:34] fraud. They were on four separate continents. We found them all, and we returned them here to [3:38] justice. And we are now in the process of returning that money. The second part of that real quick, [3:43] Senator, is the scam center fraud. So the FBI has launched and I hosted the first ever scam center [3:50] symposium in Southeast Asia in the cross-border regions of Thailand, Burma and Cambodia, which no [3:54] one really ever thinks about, is the epicenter of the fraud that tens of thousands of Americans are facing. [4:00] And in the last 18 months, the FBI has read four joint operations overseas in the Middle East [4:05] and in Southeast Asia, where we see $17 billion in fraud, crypto and cash. And we've also through, [4:12] that's our operation blackout. That is the premier law enforcement program leading the annihilation of [4:18] scam centers. We go in there, we free the traffic workers, we collect evidence, and then we work with [4:22] our partners to literally bulldoze those scam centers so they can never be up again. And we suffocate [4:27] their communications capability with the private sector by eliminating their access to the internet. [4:31] And the last thing is through Operation Level Up, we're on the proactive side of fraud. So we have [4:36] reached out to our communities and our partners and said, if you see something, if you are a target, [4:41] let us know early. We've prevented $1 billion in fraud from Americans before they were victimized by [4:47] these scam centers. We're going to continue that work. Thanks. Just quick, I've long supported efforts [4:53] led by Senator Grassley to strengthen the False Claims Act, support the Justice Department's efforts to [4:58] address whistleblower allegations. Quick answer, what role should whistleblowers, including key TAM [5:05] cases, play in rooting up fraud in government programs? They're essential. Okay, thank you. [5:12] Turning to the matter I referenced before, the killings of Renee Good and Alex Preddy. You know that [5:19] Renee Good's final words to the officers were, I'm not mad at you. And Alex Preddy, a VA intensive care nurse [5:27] who did one of the most selfless jobs that anyone could think of. His last words were to a woman who [5:33] had been shoved to the ground were, are you okay? Alex Preddy's parents have spoken out about wanting to get [5:42] meaningful information about the status of the investigation. And I know the FBI takes pride in [5:48] how it treats victims. Will you ensure that the Bureau provides meaningful information to the [5:55] families in these cases? Yes. Okay. And we have concerns about the Bureau's actions after, of course, both [6:04] killings. But after Renee Good was killed, according to reports, the FBI failed to process the car for [6:11] evidence. Do you agree that it is important for the Bureau to conduct timely, thorough investigations [6:19] of officer-involved shootings? When we are the lead agency, yes. All right. And so the, with that answer, [6:29] it makes me sort of step back a little. So is the lead agency then, in your mind, is going to be the [6:34] state and the locals for the Renee Good and Alex Preddy shootings? Because again, we're going to have to [6:41] have cooperation as we have in all of the instances I mentioned about Annunciation, Melissa and Mark [6:47] Hortman's killing and others. We will fully support all those investigations. It doesn't matter if it's [6:52] a state investigation, federal investigation, bureau investigation, DHS investigation. We're fully [6:56] committed to support all of them. Okay. I have great concerns regarding the president's use of [7:03] the Justice Department when it comes to our democracy. Do you believe it is proper for the [7:09] president to use the FBI to influence any election or give an advantage to one party or another over [7:16] another? I don't believe any president should be doing that. And this president has not done that for [7:20] the FBI. Okay. And since the Civil War, well, the Justice Department manual, and I will say, [7:28] makes it very clear that that is the case. But we are concerned because of some of the statements [7:34] the president has made and some of the actions that have been taken across the country. Since the Civil War, [7:41] federal law has made clear that the president does not have the authority to deploy armed federal [7:45] officials to election sites. Are you aware of the Justice Department's longstanding guidance that states [7:52] that FBI agents cannot conduct investigations inside polling places on election day and that federal [7:59] prosecutors have no authority to send FBI special agents or deploy U.S. marshals to polling places? I'm [8:06] aware. And so will you commit to following clear federal law and DOJ policy and not deploy federal agents to [8:13] polling places? We will always follow the law and the guidelines. Okay. During your time as FBI director, [8:20] the bureau has investigated members of the media for activities related to news gatherings such as reporting on [8:27] government whistleblowers. According to reports in July, you personally oversaw an investigation in which [8:34] subpoenas were issued to New York Times journalists who reported about security deficiencies in the Qatari [8:40] donated Air Force One and armed officers were even sent to reporters' homes. These subpoenas were withdrawn [8:47] because a federal judge found the Justice Department failed to follow its own rules about subpoenaing [8:54] journalists. Is that correct? I think that's an accurate summary, but just real quick, we are not [8:59] targeting the journalists. We are looking to find out who leaks sensitive and classified information [9:04] as a government employee. Okay, and I will note that the judge said in his ruling, he said subpoenas [9:13] to reporters are not the first thing you do. They are the last thing you do. And so do you believe that [9:19] subpoenaing reporters just 24 hours after the story was published? Is that the last resort? [9:26] Well, there's a lot of work that went into that, Kate, and it's still ongoing. And so I'm not going to [9:31] comment on it, but we worked through all the hurdles that the guidelines require. Okay. We'll follow up on [9:38] that. Last, in July, more than 30 municipal water systems in Minnesota were targeted in a coordinated cyber [9:45] attack. It has been publicly reported that this was likely the work of Iranian hackers as opposed to [9:51] Minnesotans, which the president at one point stated. This isn't the first time that a cyber attack has [9:58] targeted municipal systems in Minnesota. Last summer, we had a cyber attack on the city of St. Paul. [10:05] Can you update us on the FBI's response to the recent cyber attack on at least a dozen states water [10:11] systems, including Minnesota, South Dakota, Michigan, and Arkansas? Yeah, this is one of the most [10:17] critical things that the FBI is doing in terms of our cyber operations. So when the adversary attacks [10:23] are critical infrastructure, the FBI has asked and engaged with our partners to be in early and often, [10:30] just like we did with the five major banks last year. We got in on Friday. We exfiltrated [10:34] all the bad actors by Sunday. On the water system attack that you're talking about, the problem [10:40] is the deficiency in the private sector. Remember, 85 percent of the critical infrastructure in this [10:45] country is owned by the private sector. That they were using edge routers and PLC devices that were 25 [10:51] years old. And we've asked those companies to harden those devices because it's so easy for just one [10:56] person on one keyboard in a faraway land. It doesn't even have to be a united effort to come in and break [11:01] through to that system. So we're working with that specific company on the Minnesota and the other states [11:05] that you identified. But we're also working through our operation Riptide, our cyber offensive operations. [11:11] We've led 600 private sector engagements with critical infrastructure companies across the country [11:17] to allow us to come in early and often with our cyber action teams because we can eliminate the threat [11:22] and we can also tie back the intelligence to broader operators and take down the global threat.