J. Edgar Hoover
The Senate Judiciary Committee is now questioning Kash Patel, Trump’s nominee to become director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
As the chief investigative officer of the United States, the person heading the FBI can either protect or imperil the freedoms of Americans.
I’m old enough to remember J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI’s first director, who served for 37 years, from 1935 until his death in May 1972.
Hoover supported Senator Joseph McCarthy’s communist witch hunt. He established and expanded a national blacklist of suspected communists. He used the FBI to harass and sabotage political dissidents. He collected information on officials and private citizens using illegal surveillance, wiretapping, and burglaries — giving him the power to intimidate and threaten high-ranking political figures.
If confirmed, Patel is likely to be worse than J.Edgar Hoover. Hoover at least worked under presidents who understood that they worked for the American people. Patel will work for Trump, who works only for Trump.
In fact, Patel has already come up with his own Trump enemies list. In Patel’s 2023 book Government Gangsters, he lists 60 current and former executive branch officials whom he refers to as members of the “Executive Branch Deep State.”
Patel calls these people “a cabal of tyrants” and “the most dangerous threat to our democracy.” In Patel’s words, these people:
“spread disinformation, spurn fairness, or even violate their oaths of office for political and personal gain, all at the expense of equal justice and American national security. … In many ways, this bureaucratic wing of the Deep State is the most dangerous.”
Patel lists several people who served in the Obama administration — including John Brennan, former CIA director; James Clapper, former director of national intelligence; Eric Holder, former attorney general; and John Podesta, former counselor to Obama.
Patel also lists several officials of the first Trump administration, including Bill Barr, Trump’s former attorney general, and John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser (whose security protection Trump just revoked).
Also on Patel’s list are Hillary Clinton, former Vice President Kamala Harris, and former President Joe Biden.
Patel’s (and Trump’s) enemies list is no joke. Interviewed by TheWashington Post, some on the list are lining up attorneys; a few are packing “go bags” in case they need to quickly flee; a couple are carrying recently acquired weapons; and several still in public office are getting employees ready to receive subpoenas or field interview requests by authorities. About a dozen have spoken to spouses or children about the steps they should take if police arrive at their homes.
Speaking at CPAC in February 2024, Patel said:
“They have weaponized justice, they have politicized the intelligence community, they have seized our Department of Defense ... We must identify the people in government who are crippling our constitutional republic.”
On the “Shawn Ryan Show” podcast in September 2024, Patel said:
“The one thing we learned in the Trump Administration, the first go round, is we got to put in all American patriots top to bottom. … We will go out and find the conspirators, not just in government, but in the media. Yes, we’re going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections. We’re going to come after you.”
On Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast, December 2023, Patel said:
“We [must] collectively join forces to take on the most powerful enemy that the United States has ever seen, and no it’s not Washington, D.C., it’s the mainstream media and these people out there in the fake news. That is our mission!”
I could have assembled much more of Patel’s ravings and writings, but you get the point.
Kash Patel is not simply unqualified to be the chief investigator of the United States. He’s downright dangerous.
The Senate has a constitutional responsibility to reject his confirmation. Please call your senators and tell them so. The congressional switchboard number is (202) 224-3121.
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Robert Reich is a professor of public policy at Berkeley and former secretary of labor. His writings can be found at https://robertreich.substack.com/.