GOP’s Blackburn Says Schiff, Dems Fear Patel As FBI Director Over ‘Russiagate’
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) stated on Sunday that Democrats, including California Sen. Adam Schiff, “fear” the idea of Kash Patel leading the FBI because he is aware of their actions in relation to Russiagate.
“I think, too, they are very fearful of Kash Patel, because Kash Patel knows what Adam Schiff and some of the others did with Russia collusion, and they know that he knows — the dirt on them, if you will — and I think they’re fearful of what he’s going to do and what he’s going to reveal,” Blackburn said during an appearance on “Fox & Friends” on Sunday.
She further claimed that Democrats acknowledge that “Patel is very devoted to bringing transparency to what’s going on in Washington.”
Blackburn also discussed these concerns last month when addressing the Senate Judiciary Committee following Patel’s confirmation hearings.
“As I’ve listened to my Democratic colleagues in their comments this morning, you can hear the anger and the displeasure with having Kash Patel before us. But I think it’s important to realize why Kash Patel is there and why President Trump chose to nominate Kash Patel,” she stated.
“The American people are sick and tired of two tiers of access, two tiers of treatment, and two tiers of justice. And during the Biden years, this was writ large in the actions of the DOJ and the FBI. We have all seen it,” she continued.
“Now, when Mr. Patel was before us, before I started my questioning, I asked him a question that came from listening to my Democratic colleagues as they were questioning him,” Blackburn said.
“And it was, why do the Democrats fear him? Why do they fear him? And I think the answer is so very apparent. They fear him because, yes, indeed, he is out of the box. They fear him because of what he knows about Russia collusion, what he knows about some of the activity that has taken place,” she alleged.
“And they fear him because he is going to return the FBI to its core mission, investigating violent crimes and keeping our nation safe. Now, I’m pleased that he’s going to focus on violent crime. We know that, under President Trump, violent crime was down 17 percent,” she added.
During his hearings, Patel assured Blackburn that, if appointed as FBI director, he would “do everything” in his power to help uncover Jeffrey Epstein’s files, including the list of his associates.
The Tennessee senator pressed Patel on his approach to handling the Epstein case. Epstein, a disgraced financier involved in sex trafficking, died in 2019 while in custody. Last year, nearly 200 names previously redacted from legal documents related to Ghislaine Maxwell’s case were released to the public.
Blackburn suggested that more information remains undisclosed, particularly regarding individuals who were on Epstein’s plane and others who may have been involved.
“I want to talk to you about the Epstein case. I have worked on this for years trying to get those records of who flew on Epstein’s plane and who helped him build this international human trafficking sex trafficking ring,” she stated.
“Now, earlier, I urged then-Chairman [Dick] Durbin [D-Ill.] to subpoena those records, and I ended up being blocked by Senator Durbin and Christopher Wray. They stonewalled on this,” she said. “And I know that breaking up these trafficking rings is important to President Trump. So will you work with me on this issue? So we know who worked with Jeffrey Epstein in building these sex trafficking rings?” she asked.
“Absolutely, Senator,” Patel responded. “Child sex trafficking has no place in the United States of America. And I will do everything, if confirmed as FBI director, to make sure the American public knows the full weight of what happened in the past and how we are going to counterman missing children and exploited children going forward,” he said.