Kash Patel Insists He’s Uniquely Qualified to Be FBI Director Because He’s a Victim of ‘Weaponized’ Government

FBI Director nominee Kash Patel insisted during his confirmation hearing on Thursday that the fact that he  since he was victim of weaponized government, he’s qualified for the job.

Patel is the controversial conservative firebrand who served under the first Trump administration as senior director of the Counterterrorism Directorate at the U.S. National Security Council. He also spent a lot of energy condemning the Biden DOJ before earning the nomination to serve as FBI Director during President Donald Trump’s second term.

On Thursday, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) teed Patel up to use the time-honored “best defense is a good offense” approach, asking the nominee about what he sees as clear anti-Republican bias in the DOJ, which is a subjective and debatable assertion.

“Over the past four years, the FBI and Justice Department have weaponized law enforcement towards partisan ends,” Grassley said. “This has affected you personally. You, along with even members of my staff, were the victims of FBI overreach when they secretly subpoenaed your records during the investigation into Crossfire Hurricane.”

“Inspector General [Michael] Horowitz of the Justice Department was right to say actions like this have a chilling effect on whistleblowers,” the senator continued. “How do you intend to make sure that this kind of misconduct never happens again?”

“Crossfire Hurricane” refers to the DOJ investigation into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russian intelligence during the 2016 election. A Senate Intelligence Committee report found that the Trump campaign did coordinate with Russian efforts, though that detail seems largely forgotten.

Patel relished the opportunity to paint himself as a victim.

He answered:

This may be one of the scenarios that most uniquely qualifies me to take command at the FBI. Having been the victim of government overreach and a weaponized system of justice and law enforcement, I know what it feels like to have the full weight of the United States government barreling down on you. And as the Biden inspector general determined those activities by the proper and not predicated upon law and facts, I will ensure, if confirmed, that no American is subjected to that kind of torment, to that kind of cost, financially and personally. And most importantly, I will make sure that no American is subjected to death threats like I was and subjected to moving their residences like I was because of government overreach, because of leaks of information about my personal status. If confirmed as FBI director, Mr. Chairman, you have my commitment that no one in this country will feel that.

Watch above via CSPAN3