Kash Patel’s Olympics Schedule Included 2 Hockey Games and Hours of ‘Personal Time/Cultural Activities’: Report

FBI Director Kash Patel listens as President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

FBI Director Kash Patel’s Olympics schedule included two hockey games and hours of “personal time” with a spatter of actual meetings.

The schedule was obtained and published Wednesday by The New York Times, and it comes as the FBI director faces intense scrutiny for his use of taxpayer-funded government resources for recreational activities. When the U.S. men’s hockey team beat Canada in the gold medal game, Patel joined the team’s locker room celebrations and was seen chugging beers with the players.

In response to the criticism, Patel has emphasized that his time enjoying the Winter Olympics was only a small portion of his trip to Italy and that he was there in an official capacity.

His schedule, however, showed plenty of downtime. According to the report, Patel arrived in Rome on Thursday, February 19 and had dinner with Tillman Fertitta, the U.S. ambassador to Italy. The next day, the director had an hour-long meeting with Italy’s domestic security agency. Patel then took part in a photo op with Italian law enforcement before having “snacks and drinks” at the interior ministry. Later in the day, he flew to Milan for his first hockey game of the weekend.

The report continued:

His schedule for Saturday lists one 20-minute briefing with the Olympic security team, along with a half-hour tour of the joint security operations center, capped by a private lunch with an unspecified guest.

The period between 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. was reserved for what was listed as “personal time/cultural activities,” followed by a private dinner with unspecified companions.

Mr. Patel’s Sunday schedule listed only two events: The gold medal game between the United States and Canada, followed by a 7 p.m. flight back to the East Coast, a more than 4,000 mile trip that would typically cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Such controversies have been common during Patel’s first year as FBI director. He’s faced repeated backlash for his use of government resources to go see his girlfriend. In at least one instance, he reportedly used an FBI agent as a designated driver to take a drunk friend home.

On Tuesday, a whistleblower even claimed that Patel’s use of government planes has actually compromised investigations.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!