Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) questioned Kash Patel on Thursday in his confirmation hearing for FBI director. Schmitt told Patel that he has all the faith in the world that he will restore the trust of the FBI.
SEN. ERIC SCHMITT (R-MO): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It's good to see you, Mr. Patel. It's great to have your family here.
I know they must be very proud. I have to tell you, I saw up close and personal how politically weaponized the FBI had become. In my former job as Attorney General of Missouri, we brought the Missouri versus Biden lawsuit, which uncovered this vast censorship enterprise where the federal government coerced and colluded with some of the biggest companies in the history of the world to suppress speech.
And not just that, actually to pre-bunk the Hunter Biden laptop story. The FBI had the laptop in November of 2019. They met with senior executives.
Yoel Roth, who was the main guy at Twitter at the time, signed an affidavit saying they were talking specifically about the laptop. It could be Hunter Biden's pre-bunking it, calling it a Russian hack and leak operation. They knew it was true.
They knew it was his laptop. So, the rot is deep and the time for you is now. And I'm glad because reform is needed.
Senator Durbin referenced your book. I actually think, I think it's a good, everyone should read the book. Because I want to ask you about some quotes that are in the book, because a lot's been made of it.
Usually just some of the end notes, but the content of the book. Did you say in the book, American justice must never be selective. If the law is applied unevenly, democracy crumbles.
Did you say that?
KASH PATEL: I did, Senator.
SEN. ERIC SCHMITT: When agencies like the FBI and the CIA prioritize politics over truth, the nation suffers. Did you say that?
KASH PATEL: I sure did, Senator.
SEN. ERIC SCHMITT: Accountability isn't optional. Those who violate the public trust must face real consequences, regardless of their rank or title. Did you say that?
KASH PATEL: I did, Senator.
SEN. ERIC SCHMITT: Okay. There's a lot more in there. And I know that that Senator Tillis has got the game of bingo.
I'd like to play another game. Would you rather?
KASH PATEL: Let's have at it, sir.
SEN. ERIC SCHMITT: Would you rather the FBI prosecute and persecute parents who voice legitimate concerns at school board meetings, or should it investigate domestic terrorists who commit school shootings and threaten the lives of American children?
KASH PATEL: Absolutely investigate, prioritize the safety of our children and any actual and real domestic terrorists, as I've prosecuted in my past in the Obama Justice Department.
SEN. ERIC SCHMITT: Would you rather the FBI be weaponized by investigating presidential candidates, political opponents, spying on and wiretapping candidates' advisors, or should the FBI get its back, get back to its core mission and get politics out of the FBI?
KASH PATEL: There should be no politics in the FBI. And having been a victim of the weaponization of law enforcement against me, I know what that feels like. And if I'm confirmed, I will make sure no American feels that sleight of hand ever again.
SEN. ERIC SCHMITT: Would you rather the FBI target traditional Catholics as extremists, or should the FBI focus on investigating actual threats posed to the American people by cartels pumping fentanyl into our communities through the southern border?
KASH PATEL: A hundred thousand deaths due to fentanyl drug overdoses in one year. I'd rather the FBI focus on that and save our children.
SEN. ERIC SCHMITT: Would you rather the FBI ignore when thugs threaten to harm and plot against Supreme Court justices, or should the FBI actually investigate that and get to the bottom of it?
KASH PATEL: I'm so glad you brought that up, Senator. This body passed a law to protect our justice of the peace, including the Supreme Court, and every single justice of the peace deserves that enforcement of that law so they can do their duty.
SEN. ERIC SCHMITT: Would you rather the FBI pressure social media companies into censoring conservative viewpoints, or should it focus on what the FBI should get back to, which is investigating interstate crimes that threaten the well-being of Americans?
KASH PATEL: No censorship. Let's focus on investigating interstate crimes.
SEN. ERIC SCHMITT: Would you rather the FBI raid the home of a former president and chief political rival, going through the first lady's personal belongings, spreading out documents on the floor staged, or should it raid the homes of terrorists who seek to harm citizens?
KASH PATEL: Let's let our men and women in law enforcement kick down the doors of terrorists and narco traffickers and pedophiles and put those people in prison where they belong.
SEN. ERIC SCHMITT: So, I mean, I could go on and on, but let me tell you what I think is really going on here. What I think's going on here is that the folks on the other side can't actually believe and can't come to grips that they're in this position right now, that they're in the minority, and that President Trump is back in office. Because what they did was, after he was out of office, they tried to destroy him.
They tried to financially ruin him and his family. They tried to intimidate him. They tried to throw him in jail for the rest of his life.
They tried to demonize half the country. Their opening and closing argument for the last four years has been that President Trump and Republicans are a threat to democracy. The American people sat in a jury box, and they watched, and they weighed the evidence, and they heard all the facts, and they rendered their own verdict.
And their verdict was for reform. They don't believe that the people who've been doing this in these positions have done a particularly good job before. They think the deck is stacked against and they saw how our justice system was turned against political opponents in a Soviet-style justice system, which moniker was, show me the man, and I'll show you the crime.
You, and by the way, I don't think they can believe you're sitting where you're sitting at right now. But guess what? You are.
And you're going to get confirmed, and you're going to lead this agency back to what it always should have been, which is to protect the American people, to fight crime, to put the bad guys in jail, not to execute a political agenda like some banana republic form of justice where you point to the person on the other side that you want taken out, and you go do that person's bidding. This country was founded on the idea that people could say what they wanted, they could believe what they want, and that the government wouldn't come after them. The government's job is not to tell you what you should think or what you can say or what you can do or what you believe.
And this Justice Department under Christopher Wray and under Joe Biden and Merrick Garland has done just that. And that's why the trust has plummeted. So you got a big job.
You got a big, big job. But I have all the faith in the world in you that you're going to restore that trust because you believe in the rule of law. You have an incredible personal story.
You're going to get confirmed. And I wish you all the best. And you have my vote.
KASH PATEL: Thank you, Senator. Appreciate that.
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