'Dysfunction is unacceptable': Here’s what legal experts say 'disqualify' Trump’s 'shocking' FBI pick

07 January

Kash Patel, President-elect Donald Trump's far-right pick for FBI director, has not been shy about promoting conspiracy theories — from echoing QAnon's claims to claiming that the FBI engineered the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol Building.

In an article published by the conservative website The Bulwark on January 5, legal experts Thomas Joscelyn and Norman L. Eisen argue that Patel's false claims about the Capitol insurrection should "disqualify" him from leading the FBI.

Joscelyn and Eisen have both been major Trump adversaries. While Joscelyn served on the January 6 Select Committee, Eisen was a special counsel for Trump's first impeachment.

The legal experts explain, "Our review of Patel's public appearances over the past four years reveals that he has repeatedly insinuated or argued that the FBI used its confidential human sources or employees to instigate the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol and entrap Trump's supporters…. Patel is not alone in claiming that the FBI had a hidden hand in the events of January 6th. That conspiracy theory is popular on the right."

They continue, "In December 2024, the Department of Justice's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a report debunking the conspiratorial claim that the FBI corruptly used its confidential human source network to instigate January 6th."

Joscelyn and Eisen note specific things that Patel has said about the January 6 insurrection.

In a September 30, 2022 segment of "Kash's Corner," Patel said, "The question that has to be answered is: When did the FBI put those guys in, and where? And did those confidential human sources engage people who are not going to conduct criminal activity and convince them to do so?"

Patel has also said he would "venture a guess" that "once we see the documentation from January 6th, you will see the FBI’s confidential human source corruption coverup network on blast."

In light of such statements, Joscelyn and Eisen emphasize, U.S. senators should reject him as FBI director.

"Patel pushing conspiracy theories about what happened on January 6th should disqualify him from leading the FBI," the legal experts warn. "These allegations deface the truth: the responsibility of Donald Trump, his supporters, and his enablers for what happened that day. That dishonors the memory of the members of law enforcement who were injured or died as a result of what really happened that day and in its long runup."

Joscelyn and Eisen continue, "But groundlessly focusing blame on the very agency Patel is supposed to lead is more shocking still. It undermines his ability to win the trust of those who make up the FBI. Given the bureau's central role in protecting us all, the risk of dysfunction is unacceptable. And what other conspiracy theories will he subscribe to, and who will be targeted as a result? Because of the power of the FBI, that question should concern us all. Patel should be thoroughly examined on all of this at his confirmation hearing. It should be disqualifying."

Thomas Joscelyn and Norman L. Eisen's full article for The Bulwark is available at this link.

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