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

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."

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.

Sen. Grassley sought to rebut expected questioning from Democrats of past quotes from Patel that appeared favorable to the "QAnon" conspiracy movement -- which previously surfaced during Pam Bondi's confirmation hearing for attorney general.

Bondi, during that hearing, notably answered that Patel would have to answer for himself the comments he made with respect to QAnon.

"I have publicly, including in the interview provided to this committee, rejected outright QAnon's baseless conspiracy theories or any other baseless conspiracy theories," Patel said.

Sen. Grassley questioned Patel on his opinion about the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, mostly glossing over his past comments that have suggested law enforcement was partly culpable in the attack.

In answering, Patel struck a different tone than one we have continually heard from President Trump, who in one of his first acts in office pardoned hundreds of rioters who violently attacked police.

"As for Jan. 6 and I have repeatedly, often publicly and privately, said there can never be a tolerance for violence against law enforcement," Patel said. "And anyone, anyone that commits an act of violence against law enforcement must be investigated, prosecuted and imprisoned."

President Donald Trump's controversial pick to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, insisted in his opening statement that while he would "guide the agency" in its investigations and national security efforts, he would "never make a prosecutorial decision," if confirmed.

"I will remain focused on the FBI's core mission, that is to investigate fully where there is a Constitutional factual basis to do so, and to never make a prosecutorial decision, that is solely the provenance of the Department of Justice and the Attorney General," Patel told the Senate Judiciary.

Patel has previously said that officials involved in building criminal cases against Trump or helping Joe Biden "rig" the 2020 election should be prosecuted.

He has also previously said that the FBI's 2016 investigation of alleged ties between Trump or his associates and Russia -- dubbed "Russiagate" -- was such a massive "criminal enterprise" that it "drowns Watergate."

Patel said he believes that to rebuild public confidence in the FBI, the FBI needs to "tackle violent crime," to "let good cops be cops," and needs to support "full transparency."