Patel uses FBI’s aircraft to attend hockey games including the Olympics

 

Mark,

We just filed a new complaint about a story that’s absolutely outrageous:

AP News: “FBI director invites fresh scrutiny over travels with appearance at US men's hockey team celebration.”

Over the weekend, FBI Director Kash Patel attended the medal round of the Milan Olympics men’s hockey competition—and was photographed drinking and partying with Team USA after their win.

Patel reportedly used a government jet to fly to Milan, where he attended the final round of the Olympic hockey competition, while the FBI gave conflicting accounts of the trip's purpose, planning and details.

An FBI spokesperson originally said that it was “not a personal trip” and that the trip “was planned months ago” to allow Patel to participate in meetings with Italian law enforcement.

However, after the NHL announced its players would be allowed to compete in the Olympics back in July, Patel tweeted on his personal X account: “NHL agreed to let the boys play in the next Olympics this coming winter-first time in over a decade… Team USA, I’ll see you there” followed by an American flag and hockey stick and puck emojis.

The FBI and its leaders must adhere to the highest standards of professional conduct, including that government resources meant to ensure national security not be abused to avoid financial responsibility for personal desires—so we filed a complaint demanding answers.

Much of Patel’s personal social media is devoted to his love of hockey. His personal interest in hockey has already crossed over into his role as FBI director several times during his short tenure, including using the FBI’s aircraft to attend other hockey games.

He also reportedly used a government aircraft to travel to a college wrestling event where his girlfriend was singing and possibly flew her back home afterward.

Director Patel has a history of questionable use of FBI resources and his appearance at the Olympics raises new questions about his integrity in using his position for his personal gain—questions that need to be answered by an IG investigation.

This isn’t the first time an FBI official has faced scrutiny for potential ethics violations. As recently as last year, the DOJ IG investigated ethics allegations related to FBI travel.

The IG determined that a former FBI Assistant Director had “wasted taxpayer funds and used their public office for their own private gain, in violation of federal ethics regulations and FBI policy” when they engaged in official travel for the purpose of fulfilling “the Assistant Director’s personal ‘bucket list.’”

The official’s effort to justify the travel as official by bookending personal interests with official events also violated agency travel policy.

Given Director Patel’s history of questionable use of FBI resources, his appearance at the Olympics and the DOJ IG’s prior investigations of FBI ethics violations, it’s critical that an IG thoroughly investigate Kash Patel’s Olympics trip.