Kash Patel's Performative Deflections

"“Do you know that it is a crime to lie to Congress?” the Maryland Democrat asked. Patel scowled and loudly reshuffled papers at his table. “I have not lied to Congress,” he said. He accused the senator of lying. He refused to look up. But as Van Hollen noted, Patel repeatedly sidestepped the actual question."

"“The director of the FBI apparently does not want to answer the question about whether or not it's a crime to lie to Congress, and I find that extremely troubling,” Van Hollen said. “You are a disgrace, Mr. Director.”"

"The hearing, which also featured the leaders of the Drug Enforcement Agency, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, might otherwise have been a drab budget discussion, except that it was also senators' first chance to question Patel on a series of recent press reports."

"In mid-April, my colleague Sarah Fitzpatrick reported on concerns inside the Trump administration about what FBI sources described as excessive drinking and unexplained absences. (In a follow-up story, Fitzpatrick also reported on the personalized bourbon bottles Patel has handed out as gifts.) Patel has denied the allegations in Fitzpatrick's initial story and sued Fitzpatrick and The Atlantic for defamation, demanding $250 milli"

A Senate subcommittee hearing included questions about FBI politicization and Patel’s personal conduct. Senator Chris Van Hollen asked whether it is a crime to lie to Congress. Patel scowled, reshuffled papers, and said he had not lied to Congress while accusing the senator of lying. Patel refused to look up and did not directly answer the question, instead repeatedly sidestepping it. Van Hollen said Patel did not want to answer whether lying to Congress is a crime and called him a disgrace. The hearing also involved leaders from the DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, and ATF, and it served as senators’ first chance to question Patel amid recent press reports about drinking, absences, and bourbon gifts.

Read at The Atlantic