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Another media hit job on Kash Patel as FBI boss celebrates hockey gold with Team USA

February 23, 2026 | | Print Article

FBI Director Kash Patel celebrated with the U.S. Olympic men’s hockey team in the locker room after their thrilling gold-medal-winning victory against Canada, and of course, the media is trying to make it into a major scandal.

On Sunday, Team USA capped off a thrilling run at the winter games with a 2-1 overtime thriller against their northern rival, which was punked in its own national sport on the world stage as Americans rejoiced over the nation’s first Olympic hockey gold medal since the iconic 1980 team took down the Russians.

An avid hockey fan, the FBI boss was in Italy on official business and attended the historic contest with video of him partying with the winners after the game being posted to X, where it went viral.

In the footage, Patel, who is wearing a white Team USA shirt, displays the prized medal and is seen chugging a beer in the jubilant scene.

“Unity, Sacrifice, Attitude- what it takes to be the best in the world. These men live and breathe it. Now Team USA are gold medal champions, legends standing on the shoulders of giants. Thank you for representing the greatest country on earth, in the greatest game ever created. 👊🏼🇺🇸🏒 congrats boys,” Patel wrote in a postgame post to X.

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On Saturday, the FBI chief shared pictures of his visit to the Milan Joint Operations Center, which is tasked with protecting athletes at the Olympics. “Nearly 100 US Government personnel have been surged to support the Olympics since the start of 2026 – with lessons we’ll take into the FIFA World Cup later this summer,” he wrote.

But despite it having been clearly established that the purpose of Patel’s trip was business, the media hit squad pounced.

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“The F.B.I. director, Kash Patel, criticized for blurring the lines between personal recreation and professional responsibility, spent Sunday celebrating the American hockey team’s Olympic victory in Milan as the bureau grappled with multiple, fast-developing crises at home,” the New York Times said in its anti-Patel hit piece.

“Mr. Patel’s trip to Italy came at a fraught and frenetic time for the bureau and for Mr. Patel, who has shown little willingness to curb or even conceal his jet-setting,” the paper sneered.

Patel responded to the media’s latest effort to gin up a scandal involving his travel.

“For the very concerned media – 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- Greatest country on earth and greatest sport on earth,” he said in a Sunday evening post to X.

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“Congratulations to our great U.S.A. Ice Hockey team. THEY WON THE GOLD. WOW!” President Donald J. Trump said in a post to Truth Social.

Patel’s boss personally congratulated Team USA in a call after they won the gold.

“The players just had the President on, I don’t know what it was, what do you call it, FaceTime, whatever, in the locker room,” said Team USA coach Mike Sullivan. “He just spoke to the group, expressing how proud he was of the group and congratulating everybody on the win.”

Chris Donaldson
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