New FBI Whistleblower Allegations Say Kash Patel Has ‘Harmed Actual Investigations’ With Jet Use: Report

MS NOW anchor Katy Tur spoke to investigative reporter Carol Leonnig about the latest news in the ongoing scandal surrounding FBI Director Kash Patel’s use of his government-funded jet for what appear to be personal trips.

Tur began the segment, “Just in, new exclusive, MSNOW reporting on FBI Director Kash Patel and a whistleblower’s allegations about how he’s using FBI planes. Joining us, MS NOW senior investigative reporter Carol Leonnig. So Carol, what do you got?”

Leonnig replied, “A whistleblower has reported to the Senate Judiciary Committee Democratic ranking member Dick Durbin that Patel — FBI Director Kash Patel’s use of his jet, the government jet, the FBI jet — has harmed actual investigations.”

“Katu, I want to separate one thing, which is to say one of the allegations here is something that we at MS NOW, my colleague Ken Dilanian and I, have been reporting on for a while, working on this behind the scenes, and then the whistleblower comes forward to Congress and basically affirms a lot of our reporting, although there are new details here,” Leonnig continued, adding:

The whistleblower says that in December of 2025, when there was a mass shooting at Brown University, Kash Patel was on his government FBI director jet in Florida, we are told, and that there was only one other available jet. But Patel had ordered it to be put on standby for another team. And that meant that during this mass shooting, an evidence review team based in the Washington, Virginia area that would normally immediately respond to a major crisis, a major crime scene like this, was delayed.

They could not use the plane. And instead, they drove through the night of the 13th and the early morning of the 14th to get to Providence, Rhode Island from Virginia. They happened to also drive through a snowstorm to get there, but they were significantly delayed, according to this whistleblower’s account. And by the way, also according to multiple sources that spoke to Ken and to me.

Tur followed up, “You guys have also been reporting on the various trips that he’s taken. There’s the Olympics, just the other day where he was seen shotgunning a beer with the U.S. Men’s hockey team, but there’s also been a number of trips to Nashville to see his girlfriend and the like. How has the agency responded to that, especially, as you very well know, Carol, Kash Patel himself was critical of Christopher Wray for using an FBI jet when he was FBI director.”

Leonnig replied, “That’s right. When he was basically just a Trump ally hoping Trump would be reelected for a second term, Kash Patel gave an interview in which he said they should ground Chris Wray’s director jet and said that it costs $15,000 every time it took off, which is not far off actually in dollar amount.”

“The rules require the FBI director to travel on this jet so that in a time of crisis, he can quickly be returned to secure communications or to Washington to manage said crisis. The issue inside — and this goes to your first question, Katy — the issue is that inside the FBI, agents and operatives are growing increasingly frustrated and, frankly, disdainful of how the director is choosing to use the jet, whether it’s for personal or for business reasons,” Leonnig replied, adding:

His choices of where to fly and when is having an impact, in their view, on the actual mission. And now Senator Dick Durbin has released a letter, which we obtained a copy of today, in which he’s asking the Inspector General for the Department of Justice and the Government Accountability Office to begin to investigate his use of the jet in ways that Durbin says are harming actual criminal investigations.

Watch the clip above via MS NOW.

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