Chris Van Hollen says Kash Patel ‘lied’ under oath as FBI clash turns deeply personal
WASHINGTON, DC: Senator Chris Van Hollen escalated his public feud with FBI Director Kash Patel by accusing him of lying under oath and saying he could no longer trust any future alcohol test results Patel may provide after their heated Senate clash over reports of the director’s alleged drinking habits.
Appearing on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ on Sunday, May 17, the Maryland Democrat said he does not believe the FBI “can function effectively” under Patel’s leadership. The comments came days after the two confronted each other during a Senate hearing tied to allegations about Patel’s conduct.
Van Hollen questions Patel’s credibility
“Oh, I don’t,” Van Hollen said when moderator Kristen Welker asked whether the FBI could function effectively with Patel leading the bureau.
“But it’s not simply because of this issue, the fact that there are so many reports that indicate that his drinking has meant that he’s incapacitated at many times,” he continued.
“As I said, Kristen, I really don’t care what he does on his free time so long as he’s not putting the public at risk, so long as he’s not compromising his important mission as director of the FBI.”
Welker also pressed Van Hollen over whether he believed Patel would follow through on taking an Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test after publicly saying he would do so.
“Well, he said in public testimony that he would do it,” Van Hollen replied. “He’s also under oath automatically in the sense that lying to Congress is a crime. So he said he’s going to do it.”
The senator then intensified his criticism by questioning Patel’s honesty outright. “My sense from Patel’s conduct overall is he may or may not do it, but I unfortunately won’t be able to believe the results,” Van Hollen said. “Because in that hearing, he did lie several times.”
Kash Patel denies allegations
The exchange followed discussion of a report from The Atlantic last month alleging erratic behavior by Patel. Patel has denied the allegations.
Patel filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against Atlantic Monthly Group, the publisher of The Atlantic, on April 20.
Van Hollen also accused Patel Sen Chris Van Hollen questions whether Patel’s future testimony can be trustedof “completely weaponized the FBI” during the interview while criticizing personnel decisions involving agents tied to politically sensitive investigations.
“He went after agents who helped [to] investigate the January 6 rioters,” Van Hollen said, adding, “More recently, he went after agents who were a part of the investigation of Trump’s taking classified materials to Mar-a-Lago.”
FBI leadership fight escalates
Van Hollen argued the dismissed agents were “following their orders” and said some were tied to counter-espionage work involving Iran.
“So he fired them at the very moment we need them most when we have this conflict with Iran,” the senator added. “So I think he needs to go for a whole host of reasons.”
The remarks marked one of Van Hollen’s sharpest public attacks yet against Patel, shifting the clash beyond policy disagreements into a direct dispute over the FBI director’s credibility and conduct under oath.
