FBI Director Kash Patel speaks during a press conference announcing details on the suspect in the shooting of U.S. conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah, U.S. September 12, 2025. REUTERS/Cheney Orr/File Photo

By Andrew Goudsward

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Kash Patel defended his tenure as FBI director before a U.S. Senate panel on Tuesday, angrily pushing back on questions about his handling of the investigation into the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and the firings of veteran officials.

Patel’s appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee came as critics, including some allies of President Donald Trump, have questioned his leadership of the most prominent U.S. law enforcement agency.

Patel offered a broad defense of his tenure, touting what he said was an increase in FBI arrests for violent crime and seizures of illegal guns.

"I find it disgusting anyone who jettisons our 31 years of combined experience that is now at the helm of the FBI," Patel said referring to himself and Dan Bongino, a U.S. Secret Service agent turned podcaster now serving as FBI deputy director. "I'm not going anywhere."Patel drew scrutiny from current and former U.S. officials after inaccurately posting on social media on Wednesday that the person responsible for the shooting of Kirk, an important leader of the young conservative movement, was in custody. The FBI later clarified that at that point two people had been questioned and released.

The actual suspect, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, was not arrested until Thursday night. The initial post sparked confusion at a moment of soaring political tensions in the U.S.

"Mr. Patel was so anxious to take credit for finding Mr. Kirk's assassin that he violated one of the basics of effective law enforcement at a critical stage of an investigation," Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee said at the start of the hearing. "Director Patel has already inflicted untold damage on the FBI, putting our national security and public safety at risk."

Trump publicly defended Patel’s handling of the probe. Patel, a Trump loyalist with less law enforcement experience than his predecessors, earned his favor by championing claims that the FBI had been corrupted by anti-Trump bias.

Patel has pushed to align the FBI, which has traditionally sought to insulate its investigations from political influence, more closely with Trump and his agenda. The FBI during Trump’s second term has removed scores of senior officials, including those with deep experience countering national security threats.

FIRED AGENTS SPEAK OUT

Two agents recently fired released statements ahead of the hearing condemning their removals.

Former Supervisory Special Agent Christopher Meyer, who was fired after he said he was incorrectly linked with the probe into Trump's mishandling of classified documents, said in a statement that his loyalty remains with the U.S. Constitution and "not to any political party, ideal or narrative."

"The principles of truth, fairness and due process are foundational to this great nation, and to the work of the FBI," Meyer said.

Three other former senior FBI officials, including a former acting director, sued last week claiming they were fired for being insufficiently loyal to Trump. The lawsuit alleges that Patel said privately that his job depended on expelling officials who had been involved in investigations into Trump, who faced two now-dismissed federal criminal cases during his years out of office.

Patel said any employees who were fired "failed to meet the needs of the FBI and uphold their constitutional duties."

Senators also questioned Patel about the Justice Department’s decision, revealed in an unsigned memo in July, not to release additional materials related to its investigation of Epstein, a wealthy financier and convicted sex offender who died by suicide while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

The determination touched off a political crisis for Trump, enraging many online right-wing supporters who expected his administration to reveal details about other wealthy and powerful people with connections to Epstein. It also cast renewed scrutiny on Trump’s prior friendship with Epstein, who had been accused of sexually abusing underage girls.

Trump has not been accused of misconduct.

Patel sought to deflect blame to a federal investigation into Epstein run out of Florida beginning in 2004, saying the U.S. attorney in charge of that probe improperly narrowed its scope. That explanation was not mentioned in the Justice Department's July memo.

Patel told lawmakers that Epstein was not a source of information for the FBI.

(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; editing by Scott Malone and Alistair Bell)