A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
In the U.S., FBI Director Kash Patel will be on Capitol Hill this morning to face questions from the House Judiciary Committee.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
It's his second straight day of testimony. He's already talked with senators. Patel is under pressure after using a social media account to announce inaccurate information about the murder of the activist Charlie Kirk. And he faced criticism for his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case and for the firings of veteran agents. He was defiant from his opening statement onward.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
KASH PATEL: I'm honored to be the ninth director of the FBI. I'm not going anywhere. If you want to criticize my 16 years of service, please bring it on.
INSKEEP: Senators did harshly criticize his remaking of what has been the nation's premier law enforcement agency. Patel responded by raising his voice and name-calling.
MARTÍNEZ: NPR political reporter Elena Moore was watching. Elena, four hours - more than four hours of this hearing. A lot came up.
ELENA MOORE, BYLINE: Yeah.
MARTÍNEZ: A lot of tensions were pretty high. So what stood out to you?
MOORE: Well, we really heard two starkly different messages. You know, Democrats provided a litany of reasons why they think Patel isn't fit for this job, drawing on what they see as recent missteps he's made. Here's how New Jersey Senator Cory Booker put it.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
CORY BOOKER: You swear to release the Epstein files, but now you're withholding the Epstein files. You claim that you have a suspect in a serious assassination. Whoops, then you don't have a suspect. You know nothing about plans to remove FBI agents, yet you're directly involved in those plans.
MOORE: And, you know, this moment devolved into a really heated exchange with Patel, who called Booker's comments a rant and false information. Republicans, for their part, largely defended the FBI director, but beyond that, they focused their time talking about the issue of political violence given that this previously scheduled hearing occurred less than a week after Charlie Kirk was assassinated.
MARTÍNEZ: And what was that message that we heard from Republicans?
MOORE: Well, much like what we've heard from the White House, many GOP lawmakers allege that the far left is to blame for fueling a larger culture of political violence. Missouri Republican Senator Eric Schmitt really focused on that.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ERIC SCHMITT: We are lying if we think that this is a both sides thing. It's not.
MOORE: And we should say, investigators have not produced evidence connecting the suspect to any larger group or movement. And Democrats heavily rejected that narrative given they've also been the targets of recent acts of political violence.
MARTÍNEZ: Now, Kash Patel is also facing allegations that he carried out politically motivated firings at the FBI. What did he say to those accusations?
MOORE: Well, during his confirmation hearing, Patel said he wouldn't dismiss anyone on political grounds, but a lawsuit filed by three former FBI officials last week alleges he did just that. Democrats repeatedly raised concerns about that case, but when Patel was pressed on whether political retribution is happening at the FBI, he pushed back.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PATEL: Any termination at the FBI was a decision that I made based on the evidence that I have as the director of the FBI. And it's my job, and I'm not going to shy away from it.
MARTÍNEZ: The Epstein case has been such a big, big topic of conversation on Capitol Hill. Did we learn anything new about it?
MOORE: Well, short answer, no. Patel stressed that he and the administration more broadly have worked to be as transparent as possible on this. But, A, you know, it remains unclear if that'll be enough for lawmakers. And Patel will likely have to answer more questions about that today when he heads back to Capitol Hill.
MARTÍNEZ: That is NPR political reporter Elena Moore. Elena, thanks.
MOORE: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF THELASTWORDISREJOICE'S "UP! + UP!! + AND AWAY!!") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
