Kash Patel claims he’s never heard of right-wing conspiracy theorist — and is reminded he’s appeared on his show eight times
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President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the next FBI director, Kash Patel, claimed during his confirmation hearing on Thursday that he had never heard of a right-wing conspiracy theorist – before being reminded that he’s appeared on his show eight times.
Patel arrived on Capitol Hill for his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he was asked by ranking member Democratic Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin about his knowledge of Stew Peters, a far-right podcaster.
“Are you familiar with Stew Peters?” Durbin asked.
“Not off the top of my head,” said Patel.
“You made eight separate appearances on his podcast,” said Durbin. “He promoted outrageous conspiracy theories and worked with a prominent neo-Nazi.”
“I’m just asking, when it comes to your association with individuals, why are so many of them in this category?” Durbin asked.
“My association, as you loosely define it, is by appearing in media over 1,000 times, to take on people who are putting on conspiratorial theories and to disavow them of their false impressions and to talk to them about the truth,” said Patel. “That is something that I will always continue to fight for.”
A former aide to President Donald Trump and a former chief of staff at the Department of Defense, Patel has parroted large parts of the president’s criticism of the bureau.
He has suggested that the FBI’s authority be severely restricted after claims by Republicans that the FBI has improperly targeted conservatives in the last few years, allegations that the departing FBI Director Christopher Wray has rejected.
Critics of Patel argue that he’s not qualified to lead the nation’s top law enforcement agency and that he wants to direct the FBI to go after Trump’s adversaries.
Peters hosts the Stew Peters Show, which often features conspiracy theories, and has also made viral anti-vaccine films, as well as the recent film Occupied, which claims to reveal a “Jewish conspiracy” in the West.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, Peters is a “prolific antisemite.”
Even so, Peters has hosted Republican congressmen and prominent figures in Trumpworld. Other guests include the HHS Secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Rolling Stone referred to Peters as “a failed rapper and former bounty hunter,” who has called for show trials and public executions of journalists and other public figures, such as former chief medical adviser to the president Dr. Anthony Fauci and Hunter Biden.
Peters has claimed, among other things, that “Israel has the United States completely bent over the barrel” and that U.S. politicians “do whatever their Israeli masters say to do.”
The chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Iowa Republican Chuck Grassley, told the nominee in his opening statement: “Mr. Patel, you must be fair, you must be consistent, but you must be aggressive. Your actions must be based on accountability, and transparency brings accountability.”
He added: “Should you do so, you’ll have my support, and remember, either you’re going to run your agency or the agency’s going to run you, and the agency certainly ended up running Director [Christopher] Wray, and probably people before him.”
The ranking member, Democratic Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, slammed Patel in his own opening statement, saying, “Since 1935, the motto of the FBI has been fidelity, bravery, integrity. These qualities represent the course of the Bureau’s core values and the high standards that are expected of all of its employees, including the director of the FBI.”
He added: “After meeting with Mr. Patel and reviewing his record, I do not believe you meet this standard. Mr. Patel has neither the experience, the temperament, nor the judgment to lead an agency of 38,000 agents and 400 field offices around the globe.”
“During the time I’ve served on this committee, I’ve had the opportunity to consider four FBI Director nominations. Each one was a Republican, and I voted for all of them,” said Durbin.
