Durbin Questions FBI Director Patel At Senate Judiciary Committee Oversight Hearing On Patel's Partisan & Incompetent Management Of The Bureau
Durbin requested Patel respond to several questions to address Patel’s “loyalty tests,” failed polygraph tests, the Epstein files, & unprecedented purging of FBI officials
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, questioned Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel at today’s Senate Judiciary Oversight Committee hearing. Durbin requested Patel respond to a variety of questions on the unprecedented purge of FBI officials, whether Patel initiated loyalty tests, reports of failed polygraph tests by FBI political appointees, the Trump Administration’s handling of Epstein-related materials, and the murder of Charlie Kirk.
Durbin first asked about reports that dozens of remaining FBI officials, who have not been terminated, have been subjected to polygraph exams to test their loyalty.
“My understanding is that approximately 40 officials have been asked to sit for a polygraph during your Administration, and several have been asked whether they have ever made negative comments about you, [Director Patel]. Director Patel, FBI agents pledge their loyalty to the Constitution of the United States, not you personally. What is the basis for requiring polygraph exams of your workforce and asking them if they have made negative comments about you?” Durbin asked.
Director Patel refused to answer the question.
“Did any individual on your senior executive team, the Director’s Advisory Team, or who serve in other positions on the 7th floor receive disqualifying alerts on their polygraphs?” Durbin asked.
Director Patel refused to answer the question.
“Did you or Attorney General Bondi provide any individual with a waiver, so they could remain employed after they received disqualifying reports on their polygraph?” Durbin asked.
Director Patel responded, “I have to get back to you.”
“You don't remember that?” Durbin asked.
Mr. Patel responded to Durbin that his “priority is protecting the American public, not polygraphs.”
Durbin replied, “And to have a decent memory when you come before a committee.”
Durbin then asked about the Trump Administration fumbling the release of the Epstein files. Durbin’s office received a highly credible whistleblower disclosure describing Attorney General Bondi’s pressure on the FBI to quickly review and produce more documents.
“Director Patel, to your knowledge, did a whistleblower ever make a disclosure to Attorney General Bondi indicating that the New York field office was withholding Epstein-related records?” Durbin asked.
Director Patel responded that he is not “familiar” with the whistleblower.
It was revealed to Durbin and the Senate Judiciary Committee that, for two weeks in late March, the FBI assigned approximately 1,000 personnel in its Information Management Division and hundreds of additional agents from the New York Field Office to work 24-hour shifts to review and produce more documents. These officials were told to “flag” any records in which President Trump was mentioned.
“Nothing came of that [Epstein] review until July, when DOJ and FBI released an unsigned memorandum stating, ‘there is no incriminating client list.’ Why was this July 7 memorandum unsigned?” Durbin asked.
Director Patel again dodged the question.
Durbin then again asked who was responsible for the conclusions related to the Epstein files, to which Mr. Patel could not cite a lead person and instead claimed it was from “many” individuals at DOJ but no lead.
Durbin then asked about Deputy Director Dan Bongino—a conspiracy theorist who built a lucrative career making inflammatory and unsubstantiated statements about the FBI that would be disqualifying in any administration that cared about nonpartisan law enforcement and the security of the American people. Mr. Bongino called the placement of pipe bombs outside of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Republican National Committee (RNC) headquarters on January 6 an “inside job” and said “this was a setup. I have zero doubt…. And whoever goes into FBI… you better get an answer… about why.”
“What is the evidence to suggest that the pipe bombs placed outside the DNC and RNC on January 6 where an ‘inside job’?” Durbin asked.
Director Patel again dodged the question and provided no evidence.
Durbin then asked about Director Patel’s unprecedented purging of highly qualified FBI officials. Durbin specifically asked about Chris Meyer, a field agent assigned to fly Director Patel’s plane until last month. Durbin also cited the firing of Walter Giardina, another top agent in the Washington D.C. field office. Durbin asked why they were terminated to which Director Patel simply stated that they “failed to uphold their Constitutional duty.”
Durbin continued, “It’s disgraceful when Mr. Meyer and Mr. Giardina [who have] served our country so well and were terminated apparently because of the rants of a podcaster.”
As the Trump Administration’s focus continues to be on President Trump’s mass deportation efforts, the FBI is diverting important resources away from efforts to fight domestic terrorism—including extremists who target children. According to reporting from MSNBC, “Baltimore’s domestic terrorism squad was reassigned this year to work full time on immigration enforcement, forcing them to walk away from investigations of a network of violent predators that targets and exploits children online.” Specifically, agents were pulled from cases focused on the 764 group, which the FBI describes as “nihilistic violent extremist” who “blackmail children to perform vile acts on camera.”
Durbin asked why these agents, who are investigating child abuse, would be pulled from such important cases; Director Patel dodged the question. Despite not answering Durbin, Director Patel provided a response related to this question to Republicans.
Durbin then focused on reports the FBI is no longer requiring college degrees.
“Did you change the requirements on college degrees?” Durbin asked.
Director Patel responded, “We are allowing police officers who served for a number of years to come into the FBI.”
Video of Durbin’s questions in Committee is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s questions in Committee is available here.
Footage of Durbin’s questions in Committee is available here for TV Stations.
Today’s hearing is the first time Director Patel has testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee as Director. During Durbin’s four years as Chair of the Committee, he held four hearings with then-FBI Director Wray.
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