Kash Patel faces questions over his beer-chugging trip to the Olympics during Senate hearing

WASHINGTON, DC: FBI Director Kash Patel came under intense scrutiny during a fiery Senate hearing as lawmakers bombarded him with explosive allegations of excessive alcohol consumption and even day drinking while serving in office.

During a heated Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on the FBI’s budget on Tuesday, May 12, Senator Chris Coons sharply questioned Patel over his beer-chugging Olympics trip, asking how the visit advanced the FBI’s mission.

The FBI director has been under a cloud of controversy since February, when he attended the Winter Olympics in Milan and was caught on camera enthusiastically chugging a beer inside Team USA’s locker room during the team’s gold medal celebration.

The locker-room celebration quickly spiraled into a media headache, triggering a wave of negative headlines, with even President Donald Trump reportedly fuming privately over Patel’s embarrassing boozy antics.

Kash Patel faces questions over drinking allegations

Pressing Patel over the visit, Coons asked the FBI director how much the trip cost taxpayers. “How much did your trip cost? And to what extent did that help you carry out your mission as director of the FBI?” he questioned.

Patel defended the trip, saying the FBI and Homeland Security were overseeing security for the event, where around 250,000 Americans were present.

"We’re proud that we stood up our jock there and had zero major security incidents involving American citizens," he maintained.

Patel further insisted that he kept a separate mission “quiet” and purposefully timed it around the Olympics.

“As I mentioned in my opening, the top cyber criminal from the [Chinese Communist Party] was housed in Italian custody,” he said.

“That while there we were able to work an agreement, an arrangement to have that individual expelled from Italy instead of going back to China, as has so often happened in places like Serbia. And so we accomplished that mission, and we kept it quiet, and that individual was returned to America two weeks ago,” he added.

Kash Patel accepts alcohol screening challenge

During the hearing, Patel said he committed to taking a test regarding his alcohol use after a furious exchange with Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen over accusations of excessive drinking and day drinking.

Van Hollen began his argument by pointing to an Atlantic article that alleged the FBI director has a history of what it described as “conspicuous inebriation,” claiming he frequently drank to the point of visible intoxication at venues including Ned’s private club in Washington, DC.

Patel vehemently denied the allegation and counterattacked by bringing up Van Hollen’s controversial El Salvador trip involving a meeting with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who had been detained there after an arrest in Maryland.

The senator immediately denied the allegations and challenged Patel on whether he would agree to undergo the same alcohol screening test used to assess drinking problems among active-duty military personnel and other officials.

“I’ll take any test you’re willing to take,” Patel responded, to which Van Hollen replied, “I will take it.” “Let’s go. Side by side,” Patel added.