 "Kash Patel has denied that he has an \"enemies list.\" AP")
Democrats have stalled Kashyap ‘Kash’ Patel’s bid to confirmed as the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Patel, a former lawyer of Gujarati heritage, was picked by US President Donald Trump to lead the FBI because he is fiercely loyal to Trump and the MAGA movement.
Ironically, Patel’s unquestioning loyalty may ultimately derail his nomination as FBI director.
This, after an ‘enemies list’ controversy emerged this week – the second such list with regard to Patel.
But what do we know?
Let’s take a closer look:
What happened?
Democrats on Thursday accused Patel of trying to help Trump seek revenge on those who prosecuted him and his perceived enemies.
The minority party took advantage of a rule in the Republican-led committee allowing a single delay of a week in any nomination vote.
This comes after the FBI this week was ordered to reveal the names of those agents that worked on the January 6 insurrection cases – which led Trump to be impeached for the second time and be indicted.
The acting attorney-general on January 31 fired eight top FBI officials and demanded information about the Washington-based investigators who worked on the case.
After top brass refused, the attorney-general demanded the name of all FBI employees who worked on the January 6 cases.
The attack on the Capitol was an unsuccessful effort to overturn Trump’s 2020 election defeat.
The FBI provided the list on Tuesday but it listed staff by their employee number rather than names.
FBI employees have filed two lawsuits in federal court to protect the identities of the agents who worked on the cases.
They say 6,000 agents participated in the investigations.
This row comes after the Democrats assailed Patel during his January 30 hearing for an ‘enemies list’ in his 2022 book “Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for Our Democracy.”
As per AOL, Patel listed over 50 current and former US officials who he claimed were “members of the Executive Branch deep state” and a “dangerous threat to democracy.”
The list includes three of Trump ’s past presidential opponents – Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton.
Merrick Garland, the attorney general under Biden, ex-defence secretary Lloyd Austin and ex-National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan also made the cut.
Even those who worked for Trump aren’t spared – such as ex-Trump administration NSA John Bolton and ex-Trump attorney general Bill Barr.
Christopher Wray, whom Trump appointed and is looking to replace with Patel, is also on the list.
As is James Comey – who arguably handed Trump the 2016 election after announcing he was reopening the case regarding Hillary Clinton handling of a private email server.
Patel in the 2022 book claimed these people should be investigated or “otherwise reviled.”
AOL quoted Tommy Vietor, a former Barack Obama aide and “Pod Save America” co-host, said the list was “basically just Obama staff and Republicans who were mean to Trump.”
Patel has denied that he has an “enemies list.”
He has claimed that he is merely interested in bringing lawbreakers to book.
As per The New York Times, Patel told lawmakers that the FBI, “will not go backwards. There will be no politicisation at the F.B.I. There will be no retributive actions taken by any FBI should I be confirmed as FBI director.”
But Patel sang a different tune on Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast in 2023.
“We will go out and find the conspirators not just in government but in the media. We’re going to come after you whether it’s criminally or civilly. We’ll figure that out,” Patel was quoted as saying by Newsweek.
One person on Patel’s ‘enemies list’ told CNN they are taking steps to keep themselves and their family safe before he is appointed FBI director.
This includes moving their family and keeping the location of their new home under wraps.
“After being doxed several years ago, we were tired of dealing with the constant anxiety of always needing to look over our shoulders,” the person told said. “Everyone deserves to have safety and security at home. Moving and taking precautions to keep our address anonymous will feel like a weight lifted.”
Charles Kupperman, a former Trump national security adviser and Bolton ally, added, “His professional experience does not meet the leadership, management, or character standards required. Open or veiled threats to those who do not support his confirmation is completely unacceptable and inappropriate.”
Kupperman, incidentally, also made Patel’s ‘enemies list.’
Newsweek quoted Pam Bondi, Trump’s pick for Attorney-General, as saying at her confirmation hearing on Wednesday, “There will never be an enemies list within the Department of Justice.”
Democrats unconvinced
Though the Trump administration has insisted that only those agents “who acted with corrupt or partisan intent” ought to be concerned, Democrats are not convinced.
“It has been referred to as an enemies list,” Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar said. “You called them ‘deep state.’”
“It’s not an enemies list. That is a total mischaracterisation ,” Patel said.
It was “a glossary” in a book, he claimed.
“These actions have political retribution written all over them, and it will get worse if Kash Patel is named FBI director,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer.
“The Senate should not rubber-stamp a patently partisan nominee like Kash Patel to lead the FBI… Either Mr Patel serves the interests of the American people or serves the interests of Donald Trump.”
Democrats accused Patel after the hearing of misleading members by downplaying his involvement in a song recorded by insurrectionists who stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 – and noted that he reposted a social media video depicting him butchering Trump’s critics.
“Setting aside how grotesque that is, the idea that a man with the kind of judgment – that he thinks it’s okay to repost imagery of himself chainsawing his political enemies – (it) is not appropriate for an FBI director,” said Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse.
Patel is among a number of Trump intelligence and law enforcement nominees who have been assailed over character flaws, their lack of experience and poor judgment in a series of showstopping Senate confirmation hearings.
Patel’s committee approval hearing will now likely take place next Thursday, with two Republican “no” votes enough to stop his nomination from making it to the Senate floor with a favourable report.
But Trump has enormous sway over Republicans in Congress and the party’s senators have shown little appetite for objecting to the figures picked to staff the Republican leader’s national security team.
Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz slammed what he termed “baseless attacks and political theater” targeting Patel as he accused the nominee’s critics of having “peddled innuendo and misinformation.”
“At the end of the day, what is really striking, is none of them made a serious argument that Kash Patel is not qualified,” he told Fox News.
“His experience is extensive and what they are afraid of is that Kash Patel will do exactly what Donald Trump promised.”
With inputs from agencies