Kash Patel is leading the FBI with a focus on increasing his profile, according to his agents.
The 45-year-old FBI director, who had no experience with the agency before taking the top job, is said to have demanded that any “noteworthy arrests” be notified so that he could be on the scene and get screen time.
A source told Axios that while Patel focused on the news story, agents were instructed to avoid contact with the director if he did show up (which was not a given).
An FBI agent claimed that Kash Patel requested advance notice of the newsworthy arrest so that he could rush to the scene. / Daniel Heuer/AFP/Getty Images
Patel is rarely seen without his FBI trench coat at work, a habit that sources told Axios made staff uncomfortable. “You’re the director of the FBI. Wear a damn suit,” the recently retired agent said.
The agent’s complaint reflects a report leaked this month in a dossier compiled by former and current agents that addressed Patel’s leadership failures.
While working for Patel, his habit of wearing an FBI trench coat was unpopular with agents, one source said. /Michael Sciaglo/Getty Images
In one incident, the files say, Patel lost his temper upon arriving in Provo, Utah, the day after Charlie Kirk was assassinated.
While FBI agents were conducting a manhunt, Patel allegedly refused to leave his plane until he was offered a medium-sized trench coat. Patel then continued his fit because the jacket didn’t have enough patches on the sleeves. He remained on the plane until FBI SWAT team members “removed the patches from his uniform and handed them over to FBI Director Kash Patel at the airport.”
“Patel apparently did not have his FBI raid jacket with him and refused to step off the plane without wearing the jacket,” the report said.
Cash himself called the story “100 percent false” in an interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham, explaining that he was “honored” to be encouraged to wear the jacket and wore his unit-specific insignia with “proud” when he was invited.
Agents also told Axios that Patel’s strong social media presence led him to announce arrests of Charlie Kirk’s assassins even though they had not yet been apprehended, similarly adding to his unpopularity.
Patel also reportedly tipped the balance with social media coverage of the investigation and numerous television appearances, sometimes incorrectly. /Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Given his talent for the spotlight, use of private jets, new fleet of luxury cars and a series of trips with musician girlfriend Alexis Wilkins, it was revealed last month that Patel has a nickname as he uses his role as FBI director to fulfill all of his wildest dreams.
Former FBI senior director Christopher O’Leary told MSNOW weekend: “That’s a nickname I heard FBI agents give him. He’s the Make-A-Wish director.”
