If Only Kash Patel Would Just Fly Away

"In the eleven months since the former MAGA podcaster became FBI Director, he's managed to show everyone how to not do his job. He's bungled various high-profile investigations (not bungling is a pretty important part of the role); fired people to allegedly cozy up to Trump's retribution campaign (at least three individuals are suing him for this); and was caught red-handed promoting QAnon in social media posts."

"Now, according to a new report from the Wall Street Journal, which obtained Patel's flight records, the FBI director's been using and abusing his $60 million agency jet-mostly for date nights with his girlfriend, Alexis Wilkins, a 27-year-old country singer. Since January, he's taken nine trips to Las Vegas, Nevada (where he lived before joining the Trump administration) and seven to Nashville, where Wilkin lives."

"During one of his recent trips-which made headlines for its sheer excess-Patel traveled to State College, Pennsylvania, to watch Wilkins perform the national anthem. He flew to Nashville, again, one day later. After the packed itinerary provoked public ire-maybe because all this happened while thousands of FBI agents worked unpaid during the government shutdown-Patel had a meltdown on Twitter, fired the FBI official in charge of overseeing the agency's jets, and had the agency pull his jet's records from a flight-tracking database."

Kash Patel, who became FBI Director eleven months ago, has mishandled core responsibilities and cultivated allegations of misconduct. He bungled high-profile investigations, allegedly fired staff to align with Trump's retribution campaign, and promoted QAnon on social media. Flight records show persistent personal use of the FBI's $60 million agency jet for trips with girlfriend Alexis Wilkins, including repeated travel to Las Vegas and Nashville. One trip included flying to Pennsylvania to watch Wilkins perform, then to Nashville the next day. Public outrage followed amid unpaid agent work during a shutdown, prompting Patel to fire an official overseeing jets and remove the jet from flight trackers.

Read at Jezebel