Amna Nawaz
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WATCH: Citing Pirro, Whitehouse presses Patel for more info on FBI background investigations
Posted
September 16, 2025
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September 16, 2025
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4:29Now PlayingSen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., questioned FBI Director Kash Patel for more information on how background investigations into its workers are conducted before they become a part of the nation’s top law enforcement agency.
Whitehouse cited the case of Jeanine Pirro, a former Fox News star who’s now serving as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. Prior to her confirmation in August, several Fox News executives at the big media organization reportedly described her as a “reckless maniac” and criticized her for “insane” comments and having a penchant for conspiracy theories, especially following the 2020 election results in which Pirro falsely claimed that the election was stolen from Donald Trump. The executives’ criticisms of Pirro were revealed in documents from a defamation lawsuit brought by a voting tech company against Fox News, which names Pirro as a defendant.
Whitehouse asked if these comments came up in Pirro’s background investigation.
“For any background investigation, Senator, we do not discuss those publicly,” said Patel, who appeared before lawmakers in a hearing Tuesday focused on his leadership at the FBI.
Whitehouse followed up, asking if Patel knew if that information was found. The senator said there were three possible possibilities on what happened here: The FBI investigation didn’t find it, the FBI did find and didn’t report it up the chain, or that the agency reported it to the administration and went ahead with Pirro’s nomination, knowing how former colleagues described her.
When Whitehouse asked Patel if the FBI has the authority to look into these claims, Patel said that background investigations are done by career individuals at the agency and “do not report the details of those to me.”
Last week, three former high-ranking FBI officials sued Patel, alleging they were fired in August as part of a “campaign of retribution” and that the director knew it was “likely illegal” to remove workers based on the cases they investigated.
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