Patel defends Olympic locker room celebration after criticism
FBI Director Kash Patel is facing criticism after appearing in the USA men’s hockey team locker room following their gold-medal win over Canada on Sunday.
A video circulating on X shows Patel celebrating with the team, drinking a beer and wearing a gold medal that one of the players loaned him.
Patel later addressed the video in a post on X, saying the team invited him to join the celebration.
“Yes, I love America and was extremely humbled when my friends, the newly minted Gold Medal winners on Team USA, invited me into the locker room to celebrate this historic moment with the boys,” Patel posted.
Lawmakers question the trip
The backlash has focused less on the celebration itself and more on Patel’s trip to Italy.
Patel flew overseas earlier this month, and some lawmakers argue taxpayers funded the travel because he used the FBI’s jet. But Patel’s aides insist the trip coincided with the Olympics but was official business.
In a post on X on Saturday, Patel said he visited the Milan Joint Operations Center, which provides security support for U.S. athletes and citizens during the Winter Games.
An aide reshared the post, noting, “This is the fourth public official event since Director Patel’s arrival in Italy. And for those wondering, I have yet to receive any follow-up from CBS or MS NOW, who purposefully misled people to think Kash was flying to Italy to hang out at the Olympics.”
Democratic lawmakers remain critical.
Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., reposted the locker room video Sunday, writing “The grift & corruption is unreal.”
He added, “Your taxpayer dollars funding the FBI Director’s Italian vacation.”
Jet use under renewed scrutiny
The episode has revived prior questions about Patel’s use of government aircraft.
In December, House Judiciary Committee Democrats, including Ranking Member Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif., questioned Patel’s use of the FBI’s Gulfstream jet for a trip to Pennsylvania to attend a Penn State wrestling event.
They allege the flight had no apparent connection to FBI business and requested detailed travel records, passenger manifests and related communications.
“These planes are not yours,” they wrote. “They are the property of the U.S. Government and are paid for by the American people.”
Patel previously called out jet use
Patel has previously criticized former FBI Director Chris Wrap for his own jet use, saying in 2023 that Wray didn’t need the plane for vacations.
“I’m just saying Chris Wray doesn’t need a government-funded G5 jet to go to vacations,” Patel said. “Maybe we ground that plane. $15,000 every time it takes off. Just a thought.”
Mar-a-Lago shooting and Trump
Patel’s Sunday celebration with the hockey team came on the same day Secret Service agents shot and killed an armed man at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
FBI officials said the man was attempting to unlawfully breach the property’s secure perimeter.
While sitting in a box during the USA hockey game, before heading to the locker room to celebrate, Patel shared a post on X saying the FBI was dedicating all necessary resources to the investigation.
“We will continue working closely with [the Secret Service] as well our state and federal partners and will provide updates as we are able.”
Once in the locker room, Patel called Trump so he could speak to the players, inviting them to the White House to celebrate their gold medal win.
He made an additional comment, however, that’s drawing some backlash. He said he would have to invite the women’s hockey team, which also won gold, or else he’d “probably be impeached.”
“And we have to — I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team,” Trump said on the phone call. “You do know that. I do believe I probably would be impeached, okay?”
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
