FBI Director Kash Patel’s girlfriend has accused conservatives angered by his partying at the Winter Olympics of falling “victim to the fake news” and insisted the Bureau was “providing security” at the event.
Aspiring country music singer Alexis Wilkins, 27, said she would only briefly address the uproar over Patel’s trip while answering questions about current affairs on her Rumble show “Between the Headlines” Wednesday.
“What I will say is the Bureau has long-been in charge of providing security for the Olympics and that’s what was happening,” Wilkins said in response to a question about Patel misusing government resources to drink beer with the U.S. men’s hockey team in Milan after their stunning defeat of Canada.
Without citing a news outlet or specific story, Wilkins indicated that the media had wrongly reported on her 46-year-old boyfriend’s four-day trip, where he watched the final and then celebrated in the locker room with Team USA after their gold medal win.
“I think people run things in the media in order to cause an outrage and I’ve never seen so many conservatives fall victim to the fake news,” Wilkins said.
Patel has defended his presence with the men’s hockey team, claiming he was “invited” to celebrate in the locker room after their win. The FBI director then facilitated a conversation with the team and President Donald Trump, in which the president invited the men to the State of the Union address.
FBI Spokesperson Ben Williamson has also refuted characterizations that Patel went to Italy for personal reasons, saying the trip had been planned for months with scheduled meetings and security briefings.
“Director Patel had highly productive meetings in Italy focused on strengthening joint counterterrorism coordination, transnational crime enforcement, the extradition of high-value targets and Olympic security planning with our closest allies,” Williamson said in a statement.
However, an internal schedule of Patel’s trip, obtained by the New York Times, indicated the FBI director was given hours of downtime between work meetings, meet-and-greets, private meals and “cultural activities.”
Williamson said “leaking” Patel’s schedule was a “criminal act that jeopardizes security and will not be taken lightly.”
Since becoming FBI director, Patel has been accused of misusing the FBI jet for personal travel, including visits to Wilkins. Patel has defended himself and pointed out that, as FBI director, he is required to use the jet for personal and business travel. The director is supposed to reimburse the government at the cost of a commercial ticket for personal travel.
Whistleblowers have also aired complaints about Patel’s internal management style, accusing the FBI director of caring more about his public image and pleasing Trump than running the Bureau effectively. The FBI and Patel have pushed back on those claims.
