Kash Patel events with Team USA hockey champs after taking FBI jet to Italy as aide defends ‘official business’ journey | EUROtoday

FBI Director Kash Patel is as soon as once more below fireplace for his use of official FBI sources for journey as he appeared alongside gold medal-winning members of Team USA hockey on Sunday on the Olympics in Milano Cortina.

The FBI chief has was beforehand accused of utilizing federal authorities sources to take “extravagant” journeys along with his girlfriend, allegedly incomes him the derisive nickname “Make-a-Wish Director” behind closed doorways.

But on Sunday he posted pictures of himself grinning alongside members of the lads’s hockey crew mere hours after a spokesperson for his company blasted the mere suggestion that Patel had used authorities sources for a private trip.

He was additionally captured celebrating within the locker room on crew member Dylan Larkin’s Instagram Live.

It’s an ungainly search for the director, whose company is already battling perceptions that he’s unqualified for the job and unserious along with his administration of the company and use of its sources.

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In posts to X over the weekend throughout his journey to Italy, the FBI director highlighted visits with varied officers together with Italian ministers, together with one asserting a brand new safety settlement to boost worldwide cybersecurity cooperation.

And simply moments earlier than he was seen in footage alongside the victorious Team USA members, Patel posted a press release on X stating that the FBI is deploying “all necessary resources” to Mar-a-Lago, the place Secret Service brokers fatally shot a 21-year-old man accused of making an attempt to interrupt into Donald Trump’s residence.

A FBI spokesperson on Saturday issued a fiery assertion when requested by MS NOW reporter Ken Dilanian whether or not Patel’s journey would come with a private tour to observe the Olympics.

“Your rag outlet wrote that he went to hang out at the Olympics on the taxpayer dime — even when provided information that your theory was false,” wrote FBI assistant director for public affairs Ben Williamson.

“When you’re ready to correct that let me know. Won’t hold my breath,” he stated.

But it wasn’t clear whether or not Patel’s presence was vital on the joint operations middle, and on Sunday, Patel was seen among the many crowd watching the video games and having fun with a less-than-official agenda for the day.

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On social media, Dilanian posted Larkin’s locker-room footage of Patel, throwing up a “hang loose” signal and partying with members of Team USA after defeating Canada to take house the gold.

Patel later posted his personal pictures of the journey, displaying the FBI director carrying a Team USA jersey and grinning with champagne-soaked members of the crew and their coach after the sport.

“Unity, Sacrifice, Attitude — what it takes to be the best in the world,” Patel posted on Sunday on X.

“These men live and breathe it. Now Team USA are gold medal champions, legends standing on the shoulders of giants, he added. “Thank you for representing the greatest country on earth, in the greatest game ever created.”

Last 12 months, Patel was accused of utilizing a authorities Gulfstream jet for private use to fly round and see his girlfriend, nation music singer Alexis Wilkins

Just two years earlier, Patel — then a podcaster and right-wing influencer — had complained that FBI Director Chris Wray was benefitting from “private jet travel that he pays for with taxpayer dollars to hop around the country.”

Now it’s Patel facing that same accusation and claiming that he uses the plane less than his predecessors, while defending their usage for personal trips. Among the reported excursions, Patel has used the jet for a golfing trip in Scotland as well as to go hunting in Texas, along with “date nights” with Wilkins.

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“I’ve also used the airplane less than my prior two predecessors,” Patel advised Fox’s Laura Ingraham final 12 months. “And, yes, I’m entitled to a personal life just like my other agency counterparts with their partners. Do I support my girlfriend? Absolutely. And I do take trips with her? Absolutely.”

By legislation, Patel is required to reimburse the federal authorities for any use of a personal jet or different sources used for his private journey.

Several Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee wrote to the FBI in December asking for data confirming whether or not the company has been reimbursed.

The letter accuses Patel of utilizing a authorities jet “for an overnight date with your girlfriend, a Scottish golfing excursion with your buddies, and a trip to a luxury hunting retreat called ‘Boondoggle Ranch.’”

“Why should American taxpayers be footing the bill for private jets every time you decide to hang out with your golf buddies, see your girlfriend, or go to your boondoggle escape?” they wrote.

The Independent has requested remark from the FBI.