Kash Patel shuts down FBI jet misuse allegations, defends protective detail for GF Alexis Wilkins

WASHINGTON, DC: Kash Patel is done playing whack-a-mole with allegations of his supposed “overuse” of the FBI jet and offering his girlfriend an agency security detail.

In a sit-down with Jan Jekielek, host of 'American Thought Leaders', the FBI director explained why his girlfriend, Alexis Wilkins, has a security detail or why critics are insinuating he’s treating the FBI jet like his own personal Uber.

Kash Patel defends security detail for girlfriend

Kash Patel said there have been repeated threats to Alexis Wilkins’ life.

“I think it’s disgusting that an agency head has to even address the fact that their partner’s life is continuously being threatened," he fumed.

According to Patel, the security protocols around Wilkins are standard operating procedure when someone close to a top official is under threat.

“We treat my partner like any agency head treats their partner, with the authorities that are in place already, following all the rules and regulations. And when any individual, across any agency head and their respective spousal partner, has a threat against their life, we come in hard,” he said. 

He says it’s not him making the call, but career FBI personnel running background checks, doing threat analyses, and handling security logistics.

“Unfortunately, there are multiple threats against Alexis’ life that have caused us to properly secure her safety, and that is done independently by career FBI agents. I don’t have any part in that," Patel explained.

"They make those decisions. They are the ones doing the security background, analysis, and the people in social media using it generate clicks and trash are jeopardizing the safety of her and other great Americans. And we are going to protect them every step of the way. We are not doing anything any agency head has not done before her," he added. 

Kash Patel addresses his use of the FBI jet

A report from MS NOW claimed unnamed officials and frustrated Trump admin insiders were grumbling about Kash Patel’s “private use of a government jet” and the protection provided to Wilkins. 

Patel shot down those arguments. “We put out the flight information for the American public. No other director did. We put it all out,” he said. "I'm using the FBI plane less than my prior two predecessors,” he insisted.

The director pointed out that he literally can’t fly commercial. “And just to footstomp this, I don't have the option of flying commercial. I am not allowed to. That is not a choice that is given to me. The US government has said the FBI director (not just me, any of them) cannot use commercial air," he said.

If anyone spent big, Patel argues it was his predecessors who used Reagan National Airport and racked up “4 to 7 thousand additional taxpayer dollars just for the matter of convenience.”

"I am the first FBI director to mandate the use of government airfields, and had Chris Wray and Comey done the same thing, they would have saved the taxpayer $4 million. So I'm the only one instituting economic and financial reform around that, and also using the FBI jet sparingly when I need to," Patel added. 

"But yes, am I going to continue to have a personal life just like every other agency head? Absolutely. We make a great sacrifice to be in these positions, and we are allowed to have some form of personal life," he concluded.