Kash Patel vows accountability and transparency at FBI as James Comey prosecution continues
WASHINGTON, DC: FBI Director Kash Patel said the federal case against former FBI director James Comey is "far from over," using a weekend interview to outline sweeping reforms and renewed investigations inside the bureau.
Appearing on 'My View with Lara Trump,' Patel promised to restore "accountability and transparency" after years of what he called political misuse of federal law enforcement.
Patel detailed new oversight efforts, major document releases and two investigative squads probing past conduct. His comments come as the Justice Department continues exploring ways to keep the Comey case moving after a judge dismissed the initial prosecution.
Kash Patel cites Russiagate probe to explain rebuilding trust
During the interview, Lara Trump reminded viewers that Patel had been openly critical of what he viewed as politicization under former leadership, prompting her to ask how he planned to rebuild public trust.
Patel pointed to his work exposing surveillance abuses during the Russia investigation.
"In terms of trust, coming back to Russiagate, where I was the lead investigator on Capitol Hill, exposing the FISA, the weaponization, the FBI lies to a secret court, to illegally and unlawfully surveil their political opponent," Patel said.
"Yes, that happened with information they basically made up from overseas. So the way that we ensure public trust is to make sure that it never happens again. That's step one," he stated.
He said step two centers on aggressive oversight, emphasizing how dramatically document production has increased under his tenure.
"My predecessors turned over, Comey 3000 pages... Chris Wray turned over 13,000... in my nine months, we've turned over 40,000 pages," Patel said, adding that the materials span Russiagate, Arctic Frost and numerous other matters.
Patel also described discovering "secret rooms" inside the FBI headquarters. He claimed they contained previously unknown files tied to the Russia probe, including materials placed in burn bags that had not yet been destroyed.
New investigations and a reignited James Comey fight
Kash Patel said two dedicated squads are now focused on the bureau's ongoing probes: one on Russiagate and one on Arctic Frost. Both are using a grand jury process.
"We're using a grand jury process and we are issuing, I think we're up to like 75 or 100 subpoenas already for witnesses," he said. "We also have targets for our investigation, people we think committed acts of criminal conduct."
He argued that media criticism surrounding the Comey prosecution shows investigators are "over the target," noting that detractors are questioning procedure rather than the underlying evidence.
Patel said that the individuals responsible for earlier political actions within the bureau "built this disease temple" over many years, while his team has "already ripped open the Band-Aid" in just nine months, revealing what he described as improper surveillance of lawmakers and congressional staff.
