President Donald Trump’s FBI Director nominee Kash Patel faced off with Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday in a lengthy confirmation hearing. Patel was questioned on issues ranging from Trump’s pardoning of Jan. 6 rioters to his role in elevating a song released by the Jan. 6 inmate choir.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., blasted Patel for refusing to share his grand jury testimony from the probe into Trump’s handling of classified documents after leaving the White House. Blumenthal said Patel’s refusal to share his testimony gave the appearance that he has something to hide.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., also traded barbs with Patel over the president’s sweeping pardon and sentence commutations to the more than 1,500 defendants charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots. Patel attempted to equate the action to pardons issued by former President Joe Biden, but Durbin said the two situations were different.
Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., hit Patel with rapid-fire questions regarding his involvement in and promotion of a song recorded by the “J6 Prison Choir,” a group of Capitol rioters. Patel shared the song, “Justice for All,” on social media, but Schiff criticized him for promoting the violence and assault endured by the Capitol Police on Jan. 6, 2021.
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., asked Patel about any efforts by Trump to declassify documents after leaving the White House. Patel said he did not know if the documents he saw being declassified at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida were seized by FBI agents in the special counsel probe. Booker urged Patel to testify to the Senate over what he said to the grand jury.
Overall, the hearing was marked by clashes between Patel and Democratic lawmakers over issues ranging from transparency to the handling of classified documents.