FBI Director Kash Patel hinted at a "wave of transparency" on the horizon as the agency struggles to rebuild public trust, especially in the wake of longstanding controversy over alleged politicization and selective prosecution.
Sitting alongside FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino for a "Sunday Morning Futures" exclusive interview, Patel pointed to the FBI's handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation as an example of political bias and institutional failure. He claimed senior officials within the Department of Justice "hijacked" their constitutional responsibilities by selectively deciding which cases to pursue.
"You asked in the beginning how the FBI was weaponized," he said to host Maria Bartiromo. "Well, the FBI hijacked the constitutional responsibility of the Department of Justice and the Attorney General, and James Comey and others specifically decided what cases to prosecute and not prosecute. Don't believe me? Go to the videotape in the Hillary Clinton investigation."
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"We don't decide prosecutions, and neither does any agent or intel analyst. We have great partners under Attorney General [Pam] Bondi. We work with them and discuss the matter with them, but the prosecutorial decision is with them."
Patel said that new agency leadership has uncovered additional details regarding the Crossfire Hurricane investigation into President Donald Trump's alleged ties to Russia and are working with Congress to put out information surrounding the episode.
"That's how vindictive and vicious the former leadership structure here was. Not only did they bastardize the FISA process and lie to the American public, they withheld and hid documentation and put it in rooms where people weren't supposed to look," Patel said.
"It's a good thing we're here now to clean it up, and you're about to see a wave of transparency… Just give us about a week or two."
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Patel and Bongino's wide-ranging interview with Bartiromo centered on investments in homeland security, alleged corruption among past agency leadership and restoring public trust in the institution.
In a pointed critique, Patel accused his FBI predecessors of "intentionally failing the American public" by putting on what he called the "biggest D.C. deception game" ever seen.
He claimed the bureau's reputation as a storied law enforcement agency was damaged by the likes of leaders like James Comey, Andrew McCabe and Peter Strzok and accused them of weaponizing the FBI for political purposes, misleading both the courts and the American people.
"They said the FBI was the most storied institution for law enforcement, and it was, and it will be again very soon," Patel vowed, tossing in an allegation that the former leadership used taxpayer funds, potentially illegally, to run their operation and withheld key evidence from the court.
"That's what broke the FBI. And then, when they were caught, they lied about it… and [few media personalities] were brave enough to cover it six, seven, eight years ago, and we're still talking about it today because Congress is working rigorously with us [and] the Crossfire Hurricane documents are coming fast and hard, and they're being sent there un-redacted so we can have full accountability."
"That's how you restore the trust that was lost to the American public when it comes to the FBI," Patel said.
