FBI Director Kash Patel issued an intense response to criticisms he’s received from bureau predecessor James Comey, and he had an additional, ominous message of his own. One of the comments made by Comey was that Patel and his deputy director, Dan Bongino, are not equipped to take on the responsibility of running the bureau.
Patel, appearing on “Special Report” with Fox News anchor Bret Baier, was asked for his thoughts on the Comey Instagram post featuring shells arranged to say “8647,” which many feel is a threat against President Donald Trump’s life.
Another theory is that the shells are a coded message for removing Trump from power. Comey denies being the individual who arranged the shells, claiming he only photographed them. He then clarified that he would never call for violence.
“You know, the FBI is bigger than any leader it’s ever had or ever will have,” Patel said, weighing in on the post. “And James Comey is a private citizen, and he can walk around the beach and talk about seashells and Crayola crayons for all I care about and talk about how we’re the conspiracy theorists.”
“But I’ll just remind the American people of one thing,” the FBI director added. “When that man was the leader of the FBI, he perpetrated the largest criminal conspiracy, packaged political information from overseas, took it to a federal FISA court, and illegally surveilled a political opponent.”
He then said, “So, I won’t be lectured on how to run this FBI from that man.”
Comey said he didn’t have much confidence in the FBI’s current crop of leaders but did have faith in the career officials working there.
“I hope the career people are able to support the director and the deputy director,” he commented, making a reference to both Patel and his deputy director. “There are lots of people in the FBI who know what they’re doing. I hope these two guys are letting them guide them.”
“Nothing in their life or their career gives me confidence that they know anything about leading an organization like that,” Comey explained. “And so, I would have serious doubts.”
Patel replied to Comey’s comments by saying, “If [Comey] wants to go after me? No problem. I’ve been living rent-free in that guy’s head for YEARS, and that’s just a bonus.”
“Do you know how many copycats we’ve had to investigate as a result of that beachside venture from the former director? Do you know how many agents I’ve had to take offline from chasing down child sex predators, fentanyl traffickers, terrorists, because everywhere across this country, people are popping up on social media?” He said during the conversation with Baier.
“[They] think that a threat to the life of the president of the United States is a joke, and they can do it because he did it. That’s what I’m having to deal with every single day. And that’s what I’m having to pull my agents and analysts off because he thought it was funny to go out there and make a political statement,” he added in conclusion.
