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Sen. Hagerty cheers Kash Patel for FBI, says ‘entire agency needs to be cleaned out’

December 1, 2024 | | Print Article

Sunday spin couldn’t deter one senator from touting Kash Patel’s ability to tackle the “completely corrupted” FBI when pressed by NBC News’ Kristen Welker.

(Video: MSNBC)

Since President-elect Donald Trump’s Election Night victory, the GOP leader has dominated corporate media coverage with wholly unsurprising pushback on his staffing nominations. As a new cycle kicked off bemoaning Patel’s nod for FBI director, Tennessee Sen. Bill Hagerty (R) was well-prepared to counter the “unqualified” narrative.

His appearance on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” Sunday commenced with Welker noting how Trump would be firing his previous pick, FBI Director Christopher Wray, to get Patel in charge, prompting both a vote of confidence from Hagerty and receipts on alleged failures by the agency in recent years.

“This entire agency needs to be cleaned out, it’s not doing its job,” argued the senator as he mentioned: former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl who’d been accused of tweeting classified information; former United States Special Envoy for Iran Rob Malley, lead negotiator for the Iran Nuclear Deal who had his security clearance taken away over his handling of classified information; and raised concerns about Ariane Tabatabai, who’d been cleared as a “subject of interest” while CIA official Asif William Rahman went on to be indicted for felony counts of alleged willful retention and transmission of national defense information in direct violation of the Espionage Act.

“There are serious problems at the FBI. The American public knows it. They expect to see sweeping change. And Kash Patel is just the type of person to do it,” said Hagerty.

Turning to remarks from former Attorney General Bill Barr’s 2022 memoir that read in part, “Patel had virtually no experience that would qualify him to serve at the highest level of the world’s preeminent law enforcement agency,” Welker asked her guest with no comment on the concerns under President Joe Biden’s administration, “Senator, how seriously do you take Barr’s warnings?”

“President Trump is entitled to name his appointees. That is exactly what he’s doing. And I’m gonna support this appointment. Kash has worked in national security. He’s worked at the Department of Justice. And he’s somebody that has been willing to uncover the wrongs of the FBI,” he asserted as the moderator focused on the pertinent detail to her question, “So senator, you are disregarding what Bill Barr, the former attorney general under Donald Trump, is saying — his warnings that he just doesn’t have the experience.”

“I’m saying there are people serving in the current administration that are woefully inexperienced. I think Kash does have relevant experience — particularly when it comes to the mandate the American public have assigned of turning these agencies around that have [been] completely corrupted Kash has pointed it out,” argued the Tennessee lawmaker.

“He’s probably the best at uncovering what’s happened to the FBI,” said Hagerty. “And I look forward to seeing him taking it apart.”

As Patel took the stage front and center for the latest wave of outrage, which included continued fearmongering from disgraced former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, reactions on social media supported the senator’s lasting favor for Trump’s nominees.

Kevin Haggerty
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