Newsletter: Investigating Trump FBI Nominee Kash Patel

The public deserves to know whether and to what extent Trump’s FBI nominee was involved in efforts to politicize and abuse the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Inquiriespress@americanoversight.org

One of the clearest indications that loyalty matters more to President-elect Trump than qualifications or respect for the rule of law is Trump’s list of intended nominees and appointees for top administration positions — including Kash Patel, his nominee for FBI director.

Last week, we sued the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for records involving Patel, who has made a name for himself as a staunch loyalist.

At issue in the case are requests we sent as far back as August 2020. We’re seeking emails between Patel — who served as a senior adviser during the first Trump administration, later moving to the Pentagon — and former and current members of Congress, as well as communications about politicized subjects, such as Trump’s baseless claims that the Obama administration had tapped his phones or the investigation into the 2019 Ukraine aid freeze.
Patel has promoted conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and the “deep state,” and has published an “enemies” list of critics and high-ranking officials. His confirmation would put him in charge of the federal law enforcement agency that he could direct to target his perceived enemies.
“Prompt release is essential for transparency, accountability, and public trust,” said Ben Sparks, American Oversight senior counsel. “Any additional delay will deprive the public of critical information about Patel’s conduct at ODNI before the Senate considers his nomination to lead the FBI.”

This week marked the four-year anniversary of Jan. 6, 2021, a dark day in U.S. history. At the time, Patel was serving as chief of staff to then acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller, having been appointed by Trump as part of his post-election purges of officials deemed disloyal.

The Jan. 6 insurrection was the culmination of Trump’s larger scheme to illegally cling to power, and it casts a heavy shadow over the preparations for the incoming administration.
Trump has pledged to issue “major pardons” for Jan. 6 defendants, and several of his nominees are those who supported his lies about the 2020 election — including Patel, who in 2023 said on Steve Bannon’s talk show that they were “going to come after the people in the media” who “helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections.”
“We’re going to come after you,” he added. “Whether it’s criminally or civilly, we’ll figure it out.”

In our investigation of the government’s response to Jan. 6, we obtained Department of Justice call logs, Secret Service timelines, and other records, and created a comprehensive timeline of that day using news reports and public records.

Through litigation, we also learned that the Department of Defense and the Army had wiped the phones of certain former senior Trump administration officials — including Patel — after the first Trump administration ended, and any text messages from Jan. 6 were not preserved.

On the Records

Tracking Government Spending at Trump-Owned Properties

As Trump prepares to return to the White House, the issue of his business conflicts is looming once again. We investigated the ways he profited off the presidency during his first term, and continue to receive documents that add to the tally.

Records we recently obtained show that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) employees stayed at Trump National Doral Miami during eight separate trips between 2017 and 2019. Their lodging expenses totaled $3,252.20.

We’ve uncovered numerous examples of taxpayer money going to Trump’s private businesses during his time in office. Documents we obtained in 2023 revealed that the Pentagon spent nearly $1 million at Trump properties from July 2017 to November 2019, including more than $270,000 at Trump National Doral Miami.
In 2021, we obtained records from the Pentagon detailing a number of trips taken by cabinet and White House officials on military airplanes during the first year of the Trump administration, including several visits to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

Last year, the House Oversight Committee released a report that showed Trump’s businesses received at least $7.8 million from officials and the governments of 20 countries during his first presidency.

The committee found that China paid $5.5 million to Trump’s businesses, Saudi Arabia spent $615,422, and Qatar spent $465,744 at Trump properties.
The report covered only two years of Trump’s time in the White House — meaning the $7.8 million is likely an undercount of the total Trump actually received from foreign governments.
American Oversight’s investigations revealed the administration-wide indifference on how to ethically handle the spending of taxpayer money at Trump properties or other businesses in which his family has financial interest.

Newsletter: Investigating Trump FBI Nominee Kash Patel

On the Records

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