ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
FBI Director Kash Patel was on Capitol Hill today. His appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee was previously scheduled, but it comes after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated amid questions about Patel's leadership of the bureau. NPR justice correspondent Ryan Lucas is covering this. Hi, Ryan.
RYAN LUCAS, BYLINE: Hi there.
SHAPIRO: Democrats have had a lot of concerns about Patel's leadership of the FBI, and this hearing gave them a chance to question him on what he's done since he was confirmed. What did they press him on?
LUCAS: Well, you're right. Democrats - and, it has to be said, FBI and Justice Department veterans as well - have had a lot of concerns about Patel, his character, his ability to handle this big job. At the hearing, Democrats pushed him on a bunch of things, but the main thing that they hit on again and again was the firings and forced resignations that Patel has overseen since he's been FBI director. Some of the people pushed out were among the most senior and lauded agents at the bureau. Three of them recently, in fact, sued him saying that they were pushed out for improper political reasons. Here's how New Jersey Democrat Cory Booker summed things up.
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CORY BOOKER: I believe you have made our country weaker and less safe. I believe that we are more vulnerable to a major event, and I pray to God it doesn't happen. You've gutted the bureau of institutional knowledge and expertise. You've fired or pushed out seasoned FBI officials, many with more than 20 years of experience.
LUCAS: Now, Booker said quite bluntly at the end that he believes Patel is failing as FBI director.
SHAPIRO: How did Patel respond?
LUCAS: Well, things turned combative several times during the more than four-hour hearing, and includes the exchange that Patel had with Booker. Here's how Patel responded.
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KASH PATEL: That rant of false information does not bring this country together. If you want to work on bringing this country - it's my time, not yours. If you...
BOOKER: My God. My God. You're going to lecture me...
PATEL: If you want to talk about...
BOOKER: ...About dividing this country?
PATEL: It is my time.
BOOKER: I follow you on your social media posts...
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BOOKER: ...That tear this country apart.
PATEL: It is my time to...
BOOKER: You should be a unifying...
PATEL: ...Address your falsehoods.
LUCAS: Now, Patel had a similar shouting match with California Democrat Adam Schiff when he pressed Patel about his handling of the files of Jeffrey Epstein. Now, Patel did try several times to highlight what he said were major accomplishments for the FBI under his leadership, including fighting violent crime, going after drug cartels. And he also denied that he had fired anyone for improper political reasons. He said employees are only fired if they fail to uphold the bureau's standards and their oaths to the Constitution.
SHAPIRO: Of course, this hearing is just days after Charlie Kirk's killing on the campus of a Utah college. Did Patel say anything new about that investigation?
LUCAS: Nothing huge, no. Although he did say the FBI is investigating whether anyone else was involved in the shooting, which is curious because officials in Utah had previously said they believe that the suspect acted alone. Now, the broader problem of political violence came up again and again. It was a point of division. Some lawmakers agree that it's a problem across the political spectrum. But some Republicans - chief among them, Missouri Republican Eric Schmitt - placed blame purely on the left, seemingly ignoring examples of Democrats who have been attacked and even killed in recent months.
Several Republicans urged Patel to investigate what they describe as networks that they allege are encouraging and funding political violence. Patel largely tried to stay above the left/right blame game, but he did say the FBI was already following the money, although he didn't offer details on whom exactly the bureau was scrutinizing.
SHAPIRO: That is NPR's Ryan Lucas. Thanks, Ryan.
LUCAS: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF SAVANA FUNK'S "GHIBLI") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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