Kash Patel hearing: FBI director nominee pressed on Jan. 6, conspiracy comments

President Trump's pick to lead the FBI faced his Senate confirmation hearing.

Last Updated: January 30, 2025, 3:54 PM EST

Kash Patel, President Donald Trump's pick for FBI director, faced members of the Senate Judiciary Committee in his confirmation hearing Thursday.

Patel, a staunch Trump ally, was the acting deputy director of national intelligence during the last year of Trump's first presidency. He has said it's his mission to "annihilate" the so-called "Deep State" of "unelected tyrants" inside government.

Among his supporters, Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has called Patel's career "a study in fighting for unpopular but righteous causes, exposing corruption, and putting America First."

Top Headlines

Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Jan 30, 2025, 11:42 AM EST

Patel clashes with Klobuchar

Patel and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn, clashed dramatically over a selection of his past comments. He repeatedly responded to the questions claiming he can't respond to partial quotes.

Patel eventually erupted.

"If the best attacks on me are going to be false accusations and grotesque mischaracterizations, the only thing this body is doing is defeating the credibility of the men and women at the FBI," he said

But it's not clear how much what Klobuchar and other Democrats have been citing was taken out of context.

Kash Patel, President Donald Trump's choice to be director of the FBI, appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing, at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 30, 2025.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

For example, Patel strongly denied that he published an alleged "enemies list" at the end of his book "Government Gangsters," published in 2023.

Klobuchar did not say it was an "enemies list," but Patel still responded, "That is a total mischaracterization," and described it simply as "a glossary in the back" of the book.

In fact, as ABC News has previously reported, the book identifies 60 current and former officials as "Members of the Executive Branch Deep State" -- people who the book called "corrupt actors of the first order."

[A]ll those who manipulated evidence, hid exculpatory information, or in any way abused their authority for political ends must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," Patel wrote in his book.

Jan 30, 2025, 11:14 AM EST

Sen. Whitehouse sounds alarm about Patel's nomination

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I. continued to press Patel in blistering terms over President Trump's sweeping pardons for Jan. 6 rioters.

The senator then pressed Patel directly, using quotes from past podcast appearances and memes posted on his social media profiles.

"Here's what this nominee himself has said about using his office to prosecute journalists: 'We will go out and find the conspirators, not just in government but in the media. We're going to come after you, whether it's criminally or civilly.' Is that a correct quotation, Mr. Patel?" Whitehouse asked.

"In part," Patel ultimately answered.

Kash Patel, President Donald Trump's choice to be director of the FBI, appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing, at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 30, 2025.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Patel further sought to distance himself from a meme he previously re-shared on Truth Social showing him taking a chainsaw to his political enemies, claiming he "had nothing to do with the creation" of the meme.

Whitehouse then summed up, in scathing terms, what he argued Patel's nomination could mean for the future of the FBI and the nonpartisan enforcement of the law.

"There is an unfathomable difference between a seeming facade being constructed around this nominee here today and what he has actually done and said in real life when left to his own devices," he said.

Jan 30, 2025, 11:11 AM EST

Patel asked about past association with Laura Loomer

Sen. Durbin questioned Patel over his past association with far-right extremist figures, including Laura Loomer -- who has regularly peddled conspiracy theories and racist tropes to attack those opposed to President Trump.

When asked about a picture showing Patel and Loomer together at an event promoting one of Patel's previous books, Patel declined to criticize Loomer directly but said he rejected any suggestion of "guilt by association."

"I don't believe I'm guilty by association, and I certainly don't believe that an individual who is the first minority to serve as a Deputy Director of National Intelligence for this country is a racist in any way. And I detest any conjecture to the contrary," he said.

Jan 30, 2025, 10:52 AM EST

Patel pushes back on Durbin regarding Jan. 6

Sen. Durbin continued to press Patel on issues related to Jan. 6.

He noted that one of the Jan. 6 defendants granted clemency by President Trump's recent broad action committed violence against police on Jan. 6 and after his release was shot by police when he pulled a gun. Durbin pressed Patel over whether Trump was wrong to give such blanket clemency.

Patel seemed to publicly break with Trump, to a point, saying, "I have always rejected any violence against law enforcement ... and I do not agree with the commutation of any sentence of any individual who committed violence against law enforcement."

Kash Patel, President Donald Trump's choice to be director of the FBI, appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing, at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 30, 2025.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP

The nominee added he has "always advocated for imprisoning those who caused harm" to law enforcement and civilians.

Durbin also pressed Patel on his role in the "J6 choir," the group of jailed Jan. 6 defendants who raised funds by releasing a song from jail.

Patel insisted that he just helped raise funds for only nonviolent offenders, but he also said he didn't know who actually sang on the recording that was released.