“Why Should We Trust the FBI?” – Sen Peters Grills Kash Patel on Iran & Homeland Security Gaps — AC1N

[0:00] We need to make sure that you have the resources you need to keep them safe. [0:04] Thank you. [0:05] Thank you, Senator. [0:06] Senator Burt, thank you. [0:07] Senator Peters? [0:09] Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and to our witnesses here today, thank you. [0:12] Thank you to each of you for the work that you do every day, especially during National [0:17] Police Week, as we all gather here. [0:19] So again, thank you. [0:20] Director Patel, we are now more than two months into a war with Iran, a leading sponsor of [0:29] terrorism. [0:29] And we have already seen at least three terrorist attacks related to that war, including one [0:36] at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan, where a Hezbollah-inspired attacker rammed a [0:42] vehicle into a synagogue, holding approximately 100 young children. [0:48] And yet the FBI has not yet put out an intelligence bulletin about the threats to the homeland [0:54] resulting from this war. [0:56] Something that is, as I think you know, usually standard action in coordination with the National [1:01] Counterterrorism Center and DHS. [1:04] And it's absolutely essential to ensuring that state, local, tribal, and territorial private [1:10] sector partners are prepared for these threats that we are seeing and actual actions that we're [1:16] seeing. [1:17] So my question for you, Director Patel, just to confirm, has the FBI, in coordination with [1:23] NCTC and DHS, issued a joint homeland threat intelligence bulletin to state, local, tribal, [1:29] territorial, and private sector partners on the threats from Iran and its proxies as a result [1:35] of this war? [1:36] I know we have pushed out numerous PSAs and I believe through the ODNI, we have spoken [1:41] collectively on the matter, but on the synagogue attack, the FBI directly coordinated with the [1:48] synagogue three weeks before and provided training, which the synagogue themselves stated, helped [1:53] prevent the loss of... [1:55] No, I agree with that. [1:56] Certainly, I'll have a question later, but that was a good thing, absolutely. [2:00] But is there a coordinated bulletin going out to all the entities that I mentioned? [2:04] We have not found that bulletin. [2:05] We have not seen that. [2:06] That has been prior practice for the FBI. [2:08] I'm wondering why this is different this time. [2:10] That's my question. [2:11] So what I'm saying is we've sent out the FBI, sent out PSAs to all our state and local partners, [2:16] and I'll check with ODNI, but we should have sent out a coordinated, collected message [2:20] out on that front. [2:21] Well, if you could forward that to me, because we have not seen that. [2:23] So I'd appreciate that if that's the case. [2:24] Yes, sir. [2:25] If you could forward that to my office, I would appreciate it. [2:27] Senator Peters, is a PSA the same thing that Senator Peters is asking about? [2:31] Yes. [2:32] Okay. [2:33] Thanks. [2:34] We'll see. [2:35] I'm, as ranking member of Homeland Security Government Affairs, Chairman Paul and I, working [2:40] in a bipartisan way, Chairman Paul, have requested a committee briefing about these threats, about [2:46] the threats related to what's happening as a result of the war in Iran. [2:50] About a month and a half ago, we're still waiting to get that briefing from the FBI, and we're [2:54] part of the Committee on Homeland Security in the U.S. Senate. [2:57] Can I get a commitment from you that we will get that briefing as soon as possible? [3:00] Absolutely. [3:01] Thank you. [3:03] Director Patel, for decades, the FBI, in partnership with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure [3:09] Security Agency, has played an absolutely critical role in helping both state and local [3:15] election officials defend against threats to our election. [3:20] The FBI briefed election officials on both physical as well as cyber threats. [3:25] It's helped political parties and campaigns secure their communication systems, that has [3:31] investigated foreign influence operations, and it's investigated threats against our election [3:38] workers. [3:39] And the work was bipartisan. [3:42] It was technical. [3:43] And it was trusted over those years. [3:45] However, today, when we look at what the FBI is doing, it seems to be somewhat different. [3:51] In January, the FBI seized more than 650 boxes of 2020 election materials from Fulton County, [3:58] Georgia. [3:59] In March, the FBI subpoenaed records from a 2020 election audit in Maricopa County, Arizona, [4:06] an audit that itself actually reaffirmed President Biden's win. [4:12] And in April, the Justice Department demanded that Wayne County, Michigan, the largest county [4:17] in my state, turn over ballots from the 2024 election. [4:21] So, Director Patel, my question is, why should state and local election officials trust the [4:27] FBI to support them in actually keeping our elections free and fair, when the FBI recently [4:34] appears to be more focused on supporting baseless speculation and debunked conspiracy theories [4:41] about both the 2020 and the 2024 election? [4:43] Well, two things, Senator. [4:45] Thank you. [4:46] As to the execution of legal search processes, we went to federal and state magistrates, [4:52] like we do in any case, and received a ruling of probable cause to advance any investigations [4:57] we're working on. [4:58] As to the overall security of the election, that is of primary importance with us, which [5:02] is why we at the FBI and me have installed ECC's election county coordinators in every [5:08] single 56 field office that I have. [5:10] We've also stood up a national security, election security post at headquarters for the upcoming [5:16] midterm elections. [5:18] And so we are continuing to keep that a priority and collect information as it comes in from overseas [5:23] and also around the country. [5:24] Well, that was my follow-up question there, but what we've been seeing some of these actions [5:29] here are ones that are related to these debunked theories, but our officials want to know what [5:35] is going to happen going forward. [5:37] They're going to want to ensure that state and local elections are indeed going to be free [5:40] and fair and folks are being protected by the FBI. [5:43] You mentioned a couple of initiatives. [5:45] What is the main message that you want to tell right now to election officials all across [5:50] the United States that the FBI is actually going to be their partner to ensure, as we have [5:54] seen in the past, free and fair elections that have occurred every single election in the United [5:59] States in recent history, that it's also going to happen again this year. [6:03] That's why we've prioritized and stood up these ECC's. [6:06] That's why we've prioritized and stood up these national coordination centers. [6:09] And that's why we're hand in glove embedded with CISA and DHS to ensure the integrity of [6:13] this upcoming election. [6:15] We have prioritized that. [6:16] We have flexed more resources to that, including the personnel I've shifted out to the field. [6:20] So they're not just at headquarters, are working on election security and election integrity [6:24] around the country. [6:25] Well, as you come before the Committee on Homeland Security, which I appreciate your [6:29] commitment to have that briefing. [6:31] We're going to want to do a deeper dive into that and I would hope you'd be prepared to [6:34] do it at that time and you could commit to doing that. [6:36] Thank you, Senator. [6:37] Thank you. [6:38] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. [6:47] Thank you, Directors.