As Friday got underway, FBI Director Kash Patel published an item to social media to alert the public to some startling news. “This morning the FBI thwarted a potential terrorist attack and arrested multiple subjects in Michigan who were allegedly plotting a violent attack over Halloween weekend,” the director wrote, adding that there would be “more details to come.”
What Patel didn’t mention was that he was a little too eager to get this news out to the public. MSNBC reported:
Senior Justice Department and FBI officials expressed frustration Friday that FBI Director Kash Patel publicly disclosed an investigation into what he called a ‘potential’ Halloween weekend terrorist plot near Detroit — before investigators had a chance to flesh out key details, including whether the attack actually was imminent, two people familiar with the matter told MSNBC.
The incident called to mind a related misstep from last month, when Patel, who’s long prioritized the spotlight over credibility, published false information to social media about the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, sparking another round of mockery of the bureau’s hapless director.
Now, it appears to have happened again. MSNBC’s report added that Justice Department officials “registered concern that Patel appeared to have acted hastily on the probe without Main Justice’s approval, with the apparent goal of seeking some credit for the FBI, but in a way that could interfere with the investigation.”
One day earlier, Patel forced out a special agent in charge, not because of wrongdoing, but because the agent, Aaron Tapp, had appeared in documents recently released by Senate Republicans as part of the partisan hysterics surrounding “Arctic Frost.”
Tapp, a 22-year veteran of the bureau, specialized in fraud and financial and cyber crimes. Now his career has been curtailed because of nonsense about a “scandal” that doesn’t exist.
The moves were ridiculous, but they were the continuation of a larger political purge at the FBI that Patel has helped oversee.
But wait, there’s more! The day before the public learned about the Tapp story, Patel confronted a series of difficult questions about his use of an FBI jet for a personal trip to Pennsylvania, where his country singer girlfriend was performing, and then to Nashville, where she lives.
If the podcast personality–turned–FBI director had cultivated a deep reservoir of respect, three controversies in three days could possibly be seen as an aberration.
After Republicans confirmed Patel in February, he faced a challenge his predecessors did not: Because he lacked qualifications, relevant skills, knowledge, credibility and experience, he would have to invest real time and energy into proving his mettle, rolling up his sleeves and doing the work to earn a reputation as a serious and capable figure. Months later, he’s done largely the opposite, careening through a series of avoidable missteps. This week, in other words, was awful for Patel, but making matters worse is the degree to which this wasn’t even an especially unusual week for him. This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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