Trump’s Clinton Problem Just Got Worse After Epstein Deposition Leaks Backfire
PDS Published 02/26/2026
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Ten people took a speedboat from Florida to try and bring down the Cuban government, four of them were killed, and at least one American citizen may have been among them.
At least, that’s based on the information we have right now, but the US is conducting its own investigation.
And, whatever they find, the situation is already adding to already high tensions – and the humanitarian crisis in Cuba is only getting worse.
Oh….and and we still might go to war with Iran at any moment.
But let’s start with Cuba.
You first had the interior ministry claiming that a Florida-registered speedboat had been detected in the country’s territorial waters sometime yesterday morning roughly one nautical mile off the coast.
When troops went to investigate, the ministry said, the people on the speedboat opened fire – “resulting in the injury of the commander of the Cuban vessel.”
And then, it said, “as a consequence of the confrontation...four aggressors on the foreign vessel were killed and six were injured.”
And so at first it was unclear exactly who these people may have been but it wouldn’t have been the first time that the Cuban government has fired on a boat from the US.
In 2022, for example, the country’s interior ministry said that it intercepted a total of 13 American speedboats involved in migrant-smuggling — trading fire with two of them.
But this time, in a follow-up statement, the ministry claimed that the boat had been carrying ten armed individuals who “intended to carry out an infiltration for terrorist purposes.”
And with that, it said authorities had seized ““Assault rifles, handguns, [molotov cocktails], bulletproof vests, telescopic sights, and camouflage uniforms.”
It then identified the six individuals who had been detained and one of those who had been killed – claiming all were “Cuban nationals residing in the United States” and “most have prior records involving criminal and violent activity.”
And highlighting two people in particular who were “wanted by authorities for their alleged involvement in the promotion, planning, organization, financing, support, or execution of terrorist acts in Cuba or abroad.”
And, in addition to all that, the ministry claimed it had arrested another man who had been “sent from the United States to guarantee the reception of the armed infiltration, who at this time has confessed to his actions.”
Now, of course, this is all according to the Cuban government.
But there has also been some outside reporting adding to the overall picture.
For example, the registration number given for the boat? It reportedly belongs to a 24-foot Pro-Line motorboat built in 1981 – which typically has a capacity for eight to ten people. []
Also, one of the men now detained in Cuba? He appears to be the same person interviewed by a US-based news site that has long called for a change of government in Cuba.
With this guy being described by the host as a “legend” and former political prisoner, and saying in the interview that he wanted to help Cubans “to achieve the freedom that is needed.” []
And, finally, the brother of the man who has been identified as one of those killed? He actually spoke to the Associated Press.
And he said that his sibling was a truck driver and an American citizen who had lived in the US for more than 20 years.
Also claiming that his sibling had fallen into an “obsessive and diabolical” quest for Cuba’s freedom but “no one knew” of his plans – adding:
“Only us Cubans who have lived over there understand.”
“They became so obsessed that they didn’t think about the consequences nor their own lives.” []
But with all that, of course, there is a lot that is unknown.
And you’ve had the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida saying it would pursue answers “through every legal and diplomatic channel available” — claiming that “facts remain unclear and conflicting.”[]
You also had the attorney general for the state of Florida said he had ordered prosecutors to work with federal, state and law enforcement partners to start an inquiry– writing on X:
“The Cuban government cannot be trusted, and we will do everything in our power to hold these communists accountable.”
Republican Congressman Carlos Gimenez (hee-MEH-nez) also called for an immediate investigation into what he described as a “massacre” – adding:
“United States authorities must determine whether any of the victims were U.S. citizens or legal residents and establish exactly what occurred.”
“The regime in Cuba must be relegated to the dustbin of history for its countless crimes against humanity.”
And, on the topic of regime change, of course, this is happening less than two months after the US took down Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.
Before and since then the US military has been blowing up small boats that it has claimed, without evidence, were involved in trafficking drugs in the region – killing at least 150 people in 44 strikes so far. []
And after the Venezuela operation you actually had Trump saying Cuba was also “ready to fall” – with his administration taking an increasingly aggressive stance toward the country.
Including by cutting off Venezuelan oil and money, blocking other oil shipments, and even signing an executive order threatening to impose tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to it.
And while US pressure isn’t anything new — with American sanctions already at least partly to blame for the country’s economic struggles — these new measures have brought the country to the brink of a major humanitarian crisis.
With this happening as Cubans in the US are increasingly caught up in Trump’s mass deportation effort – getting sent back to Cuba in record numbers.
Which is notable because nearly one million Cubans have fled to the US in recent years and they’ve long been treated as political refugees and given a fast track to residency.
But, in any case, as far as the Cubans in Cuba, you did have them getting some sort of good news yesterday.
With the US Treasury Department saying yesterday it would now allow American and some international companies to resell Venezuelan in Cuba.
Claiming the decision was made in “solidarity with the Cuban people” and was aimed at “[improving] living conditions and [supporting] independent economic activity.”[]
But the country reportedly needs 100,000 barrels of oil a day and what it might now be able to get from private companies is expected to be far less than that, so it seems unlikely that the situation will really improve. []
And you have people like Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, arguing that the situation the country is now in proves its economic system doesn’t work – with him telling reporters yesterday:
“That’s a system that’s in collapse, and they need to make dramatic reforms…” to “....open the space for both economic, and eventually political, freedom for the people of Cuba.”
You also had Rubio commenting on the situation with the boat, saying he wasn’t going to speculate, but that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Coast Guard were investigating the incident:
“The majority of the facts being publicly reported are those by the information provided by the Cubans. We will verify that independently as we gather more information, and we’ll be prepared to respond accordingly.”
“We’re going to have our own information on this. We’re going to figure out exactly what happened.”
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But back to the news, HillaryClinton claims that Republicans are using her to distract the public from Trump’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
That is what she said in opening statements this morning before sitting for a closed-door deposition with the House Oversight Committee as part of their investigation into Epstein and his associates.
Hillary released her remarks on Twitter before the testimony began, and she specifically went after the Committee's chairman, JamesComer, to accuse him of playing “partisan political theater” when he should be helping trafficking survivors, saying:
“The Committee justified its subpoena to me based on its assumption that I have information regarding the investigations into the criminal activities of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Let me be as clear as I can. I do not.”
And this is something Hillary has said in the past, claiming she does not recall ever meeting Epstein, that she never went to any of his homes or properties. []
She also has argued that it is unfair that she has to sit for a deposition, because the majority of the law enforcement officials subpoenaed in this case did not have to appear before the committee and were able to submit statements.
And Hillary submitted a statement herself, but she was still threatened with contempt charges, so she argues:[]
“This institutional failure is designed to protect one political party and one public official, rather than to seek truth and justice for the victims and survivors.”
And that is a clear reference to Trump, right, she is claiming they are putting her in the hot seat so people will look at her instead of the president.
But no surprise, she believes he is the actual problem, noting that his administration has gutted resources for investigating trafficking crimes,
Something she called a tragedy and scandal worthy of its own investigation, then adding:
“A committee endeavoring to stop human trafficking would seek to understand what specific steps are needed to fix a system that allowed Epstein to get away with his crimes in 2008. A committee run by elected officials with a commitment to transparency would ensure the full release of all the files.”
“It would get to the bottom of reports that DOJ withheld FBI interviews in which a survivor accuses President Trump of heinous crimes. It would subpoena anyone who asked on which night there would be the ‘wildest party’ on Epstein's island.”
“But that's not happening. Instead, you have compelled me to testify, fully aware that I have no knowledge that would assist your investigation, in order to distract attention from President Trump's actions and to cover them up despite legitimate calls for answers. If this Committee is serious about learning the truth about Epstein's trafficking crimes, it would not rely on press gaggles to get answers from our current president on his involvement; it would ask him directly under oath about the tens of thousands of times he shows up in the Epstein files.”
Right, and this comes as multiple reports have alleged that the DOJ withheld records from multiple FBI interviews where an unnamed woman accused Trump of sexually abusing her when she was a minor.
And while the White House tried to minimize these reports, yesterday the DOJ did say it would review whether or not files were improperly withheld.
But for his part, James Comer is denying that there are any partisan motivations behind Hillary’s hearing, saying during a press conference this morning:
“The Democrats have just as many questions for the Clintons as the Republicans, so this is not a partisan witchhunt. This was a motion, a bipartisan motion supported by Democrats, to bring the Clintons in. So I don’t think it is any type of being unfair to the Clintons in any way.” (4:07-4:27)
Comer was then pressed on whether or not the Committee would be continuing this bipartisan spirit by asking Trump’s Secretary of Commerce Hoaward Lutnick, who has also appeared in the files, to answer questions.
And while he did not give anything concrete, he said it is “very possible.”
But when it came to the latest reporting on allegations against Trump, all he said was that the committee was “looking into” the accusations reported.
And he then quickly switched gears to suggest that Democrats have been misleading the public about the files.
But some Democrats on the committee are defending Hillary amid the hearing, with Rep. James Walkinshaw (Walk-in-shaw, like the word walk) saying that:
“My fear is we’re here today as part of a political exercise, part of a long-running fever dream where Republicans want to lock up Secretary Clinton.” (6:31-6:43)
You also had Rep. Robert Garcia putting focus back on the president, saying:
“At this very moment, the DOJ continues to lead a White House coverup and we are going to be demanding, even over these next few days, that the remaining files that have not been released get released to the public. Including new files that were just discovered in the last couple of days of a survivor that has made serious accusations and allegations against not just Epstein, but also against President Trump.” (1:43-2:13)
“I hope that chairman Comer and Republicans will join us in demanding that the person who actually appears in the files more times than the former president, who we want to speak with, is President Donald Trump. And so let's get president Trump in front of our committee to answer questions that are being asked across this country.” (7:53-8:16)
As for what we will learn from this deposition and what will come out of it, well, it is not being broadcast live, right it is happening behind closed doors in Chappaqua, New York.[]
And Bill Clinton will likewise be testifying in private tomorrow.
Representatives did say they would step out for updates, and the deposition will be videotaped, but that footage will not be released until later, so we will have to wait until then to see the full picture. []
Comer promised that both depositions will be very long, especially Bill’s.
With reports noting that he has more concrete ties to Epstein than his wife and will likely be questioned about photos that appear in the files depicting him with redacted individuals.
But reports say Hillary’s deposition hit a snag pretty early on after conservative news personality Benny Johnson tweeted a leaked photo from the event that he apparently received from Rep. Lauren Boebert. []
And because this is a closed-door testimony, images of it are not authorized, and her deposition had to be paused over this leak. []
And Hillary is reportedly claiming that if things are leaking online, the press should just be let into the room as the hearing plays out.[
But Boebert ended up defending Johnson, saying he did nothing wrong and that the deposition was proceeding. []
Though it is unclear why she shared the photo, if anything else is coming of that issue.
So, we will just have to wait and see what we learn from this, both from members of Congress immediately after the hearing ends.
And then what we see in the footage itself.
Right, will that footage match exactly what different Representatives said happened, will it be clear that they were trying to spin the deposition one way or another.
And then we get to do the same thing for Bill Clinton, too.
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[And as all of that plays out], over half a million children in Minnesota have just lost their healthcare
That’s because Vice President JD Vance and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator Mehmet Oz aka Dr. Oz announced yesterday that Minnesotans were going to see a major blow to Medicaid funds.
“We have decided to temporarily halt certain amounts of Medicaid funding that are going to the state of Minnesota in order to ensure that the state of Minnesota takes its obligation seriously to be good stewards of the American people’s tax money.” (25:48-26:06)
And, to that, I first say, the tax crime call is coming from inside of the house.
But more seriously, by “certain amounts” here, Vance means $259 million dollars of Medicaid funds. []
Why are they doing this? Well, this administration has had their eyes on Minnesota as the site of major Medicare fraud scandals.
The conversation blew up a few months ago when conservative Youtuber Nick Shirley posted a video questioning daycare workers in Minnesota.
“(Shirley) Where are the children at? (Worker) I don’t know. (Shirley) Do you know where the children are at? (Worker) No. (Shirley) Where are the children at in these daycare centers? (Worker) I don’t care. (Shirely) Are the children here today? (Worker) No. (Shirley) No children? (Worker) Yeah.” (0:00-0:11)
The conversation grew when people like Vance and Kash Patel posted about it as well. [] []
Of course, Trump claimed to have sent ICE to Minnesota in a supposed effort to fight this alleged epidemic, with DHS saying, “Minnesota is ground zero for the war on fraud.” []
And, much like in the viral video, this administration has pointed fingers at Minnesota’s Somali population for most of this, which also shows why ICE was Trump’s answer to a fraud issue.
“Members of the Somali community have pillaged an estimated 19 billion dollars from the American taxpayers. We have all the information, and in actuality, the number is much higher than that.” (0:11-0:24)
In fact, it seems like that’s the real warhappening.
ICE conflicts in the state have resulted in countless unjust attacks on their Somali population. (BROLL 0:00-0:10)
“We reject the lies against the Somali communities and the attacks on our families. And we demand not only ‘ICE out,’ but that the state repair the damage that has been done.” (4:22-4:34)
And while maybe it wasn’t stated explicitly, Dr. Oz seemed to let out a sneaky little dog whistle toward the Somali community yesterday as well. (BROLL 30:59-31:04)
“This is not about the money by itself, this is about people’s lives and our culture, our shared values that have allowed these beautiful programs – Medicare and Medicaid – to survive brilliantly for 60 years.” (31:05-31:16)
I’m not sure how “culture” and “shared values” comes into play for a country who will literally leave you to die if you’re too poor to afford healthcare, but this sort of implication speaks to a broader issue other people are feeling with this announcement.
Since the beginning of this so-called war on fraud, people speculated that it was just a cover up for his larger fight against immigration.
And the writing is on the pardons.
Trump has a history of getting fraudsters off the hook, especially if the fraudsters are his supporters.
I’m talking about people like Julie and Todd Chrisley, Michele Fiore (fee-oh-ray) and Michael Grimm (like the Grim Reaper).
So unless he has a pet peeve for Medicaid fraud, things aren’t adding up.
And outside of this seemingly arbitrary decision, what this administration seems to be missing, or just doesn’t care about, is how this will impact Minnesotans.
Minnesota’s Medicaid and MinnesotaCare programs serve nearly 1.3 million people.
So roughly one in four Minnesotans will take a hit from this. []
And roughly two-thirds of those medical assistance enrollees are parents, children and pregnant women. []
This also comes with a six-month national moratorium on federal funding for people who need durable medical equipment, which includes prostheses and orthotics. []
So people are questioning if this is really the way to handle things.
And Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is maybe the loudest among these. []
He questioned Trump’s motives, posting that “Trump is weaponizing the entirety of the federal government to punish blue states like Minnesota. These cuts will be devastating for veterans, families with young kids, folks with disabilities, and working people across our state.” []
Dr. Oz claimed that they sent a letter to Governor Walz on December 7th asking for a corrective action plan to understand what Walz was going to do to fix the problem, but they found Walz’s response, quote, “inadequate.”
And Vance was clear about what they were looking for from Walz moving forward.
“What we want to see from the Governor of Minnesota is some affirmative steps to make sure that the people who are billing us for Medicare services are actually providing those Medicare services.” (45:41-45:54)
Now, the conversation around fraud in Minnesota isn’t completely made up.
In fact, it’s a big enough issue that it led Governor Walz to drop his campaign for re-election. (BROLL 1:01-1:05)
He released a statement saying, “Make no mistake: We should be concerned about fraud in our state government. We cannot effectively deliver programs and services if we can’t earn the public’s trust. That’s why, over the past few years, we’ve made systemic changes to the way we do business.” []
This came after Walz received much criticism for fumbling a welfare fraud scandal, which Trump and other top Republicans were very vocal about. []
To paint a better picture of the fraud at hand in Minnesota, it often looks like an individual or a business billing state agencies for social services without ever actually providing those services to the public.
“Far too many people have gotten rich by taking what is the best of the American spirit and getting rich off of it instead of providing services for kids who need it. That is stopping today.” (29:00-29:11)
There’s also a structural problem here from the top down.
“You have people who are billing the government millions, tens of millions, billions of dollars saying that they’re providing a service, but there’s no actual confirmation. There’s no follow up to ensure that they’re actually providing those services. We want to see that follow up from Minnesota.” (45:59-46:15)
Needless to say, this is a major issue for Minnesota taxpayers.
“We the people have had enough of our hard earned money going toward fraudsters as if it’s no big deal.” (2:03-2:09)
But because this administration has a habit of manipulating the truth to tackle other agendas, it’s important to take a closer look at the reality of the situation.
Trump accused the Somali community in Minnesota of pillaging $19 billion from American taxpayers, but that number is off to say the least.
Reports show that he may have latched on to this amount after officials found that half or more of the roughly $18 billion in federal funds that supported 14 Minnesota-ran programs starting in 2018 may have been stolen. []
Even if Somalians exclusively stole that money, half of $18 billion is a far cry from a $19 billion total.
Reports say that Trump has capitalized on the fraud cases to target the Somalia diaspora in Minnesota, which has the largest Somali population in the U.S. And eighty-two of the 92 defendants in the child nutrition, housing services and autism program schemes were Somali Americans. []
This all does, again, support the fact that there is a fraud problem in Minnesota, but it also shows that the president has used this problem to help his immigration agenda.
“Somalians ripped off that state for billions of dollars, and they contribute nothing. I don’t want them in our country. I’ll be honest with you. (1:12-1:18,1:24-1:25, 1:31-1:34)
With at least 80,000 Somali Minnesota residents – the vast majority are either US born or naturalized – reports are showing that fraud has damaged their reputation in their communities, particularly while their economic and political standing was on the rise with leaders like Ilhan Omar. []
They report new rifts and an unfair layer of suspicion against the whole community as opposed to the small group accused of fraud. []
So at this point, there are over a million Minnesotans wondering how they’re going to receive healthcare while this administration continues to come down on the state with a seemingly hidden agenda against the Somali community.
Right now, Dr. Oz has given Governor Walz 60 days to respond with another corrective action plan. []
But if not, he also says the state could face more withholdings, which means Minnesotans themselves will find themselves even more under the siege of this administration.
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to how we're going to close out today's show, let's do it with, two announcement
plugs and a final piece of news.
We need to talk about, first announcement. I'm very excited about this.
I actually just got the clear to to push this out today.
had a lot of people asking for this.
And on May 1st, I'm doing my first ever live show.
And it hasn't been a decade.
it's happening at May 1st at 730 in New York City, specifically.
main stage of City Winery in NYC.
it's gonna be crashing out live with myself and Alex Perlman.
can get tickets right now, I'm gonna include the link
in the top of the description of this video.
know, it's gonna be a great night.
I think that the venue is kind of the perfect size for this.
This, I don't want to give away too much. yeah, we'd love to have you.
And then the other push, actually also connected to the podcast, is
we just did a mini drop over a beautiful Bascombe.
can snag something for yourself.
Whether it's kind of our more sleek,
stay angry line, or if you go loud, proud and silly,
the almost crashed out until I remembered the Dow is over 50,000 gear.
Oh, Pam Bondi, some people say you're a useless piece
of shed who's, protecting a lot of just horrible people.
But at least you you helped inspire merch.
So there's that.
again links to either of those things in the description.
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FBI Director Kash Patel has fired at least ten employees who were involved in the investigation into Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago as he faces continued scrutiny for his personal use of FBI jets —
Including new allegations that his jet-setting delayed the agency’s response to a mass shooting and the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
Right, multiple sources have told reporters that the terminations are part of a broader internal investigation into the actions employees took that resulted in criminal charges against Trump.
And according to CNN, Patel ordered that investigation after discovering that the FBI had subpoenaed his phone records — as well as those of current White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles — during the probe in 2022 and 2023, when they were both private citizens.
But the timing here is super significant, because the firings reportedly came just hours after Patel himself told Reuters about the subpoenaed records.
With the FBI director alleging that investigators obtained toll records, which show the timing and recipients of calls, but do not include direct recordings or any information about the actual content of conversations.
Right, those toll record requests are actually quite common in big criminal investigations to establish proof of communications and do not indicate any evidence of wrongdoing.
With Patel telling Reuters that he didn’t know why the FBI seized the phone records, and the outlet adding that it couldn’t determine whether Patel or Wiles was under investigation, if so, why.
But it’s not surprising that Patel and Wiles would have their toll records subpoenaed because both were very close to Trump at the time of the federal investigation.
Right, it has been known for years that investigators closely scrutinized Patel — I mean, he was compelled to testify before a grand jury in the case.
And it’s already public information that investigators obtained some of Wiles’ phone records.
But, despite that, you had Patel trying to spin the narrative as a targeted attempt to go after Trump and his closest allies, with him also accusing FBI officials of trying to hide the fact that they had subpoenaed the records.
And you had a source telling The New York Times that some, if not all, of the employees Patel just fired were involved in the effort to obtain the toll records.
But you also had the outlet noting that it's still unclear if Patel and other FBI leaders have actually accused the employees of any wrongdoing.
Which is significant because they have failed to do so in the past, which has resulted in allegations that some firings have violated rules meant to protect agents against politically motivated terminations.
Right, and to that point, you had the FBI Agents Association, a professional group representing bureau employees, slamming the firings as illegal.
Saying they violate “the due process rights of those who risk their lives to protect our country” and alleging that the ousters will weaken the agency, “ultimately putting the nation at greater risk.”
But sources have said they expect that more people are going to be fired over the investigation into Trump.
With many noting that this is far from the first time the FBI has purged employees connected to the two criminal investigations into Trump as an act of retribution.
Meanwhile, we’ve also seen a lot of people pointing out that this also comes as Patel has come under fire for his taxpayer-funded travel to the Milan Olympics —
Where he was seen chugging beer and celebrating in the locker room after the U.S. men’s hockey team victory on the same weekend that an armed intruder attempted to breach Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.
And while Patel has fiercely defended his actions, insisting that he was in Milan for official purposes and was just taking a quick break to let loose, we’ve also seen some other very questionable accusations emerge about his travel.
With Sen. Dick Durbin, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, releasing a letter detailing whistleblower allegations about how Patel’s personal use of FBI jets has delayed the agency from responding to high-profile crime scenes.
Writing that Patel “has seemingly engaged in what amounts to irresponsible joyriding on DOJ and FBI-operated aircraft at the expense of the American taxpayer and to the detriment of ongoing Bureau operations.”
Right, and specifically, both of the allegations here center around delayed deployments of the FBI’s evidence response teams, which have specialized skills in crime scene mapping and the collection of forensic evidence.
And while there are evidence collection specialists at FBI field offices all around the country, the team based in Quantico is considered among the most experienced veterans, and they are often sent to major crime scenes or mass shootings.
Like, for example, the assassination of Charlie Kirk — right, in the aftermath of his murder, the shooting reconstruction team was asked to fly to Utah to help with the investigation.
But, according to the whistleblower, their deployment was delayed at least an entire day because of a plane and pilot shortage caused by Patel’s personal flights.
Beyond that, the whistleblower also alleged that his personal jet use undermined the FBI’s ability to respond to the mass shooting at Brown University this past December.
Claiming that the shooting reconstruction team was set to respond to the scene immediately, but it wasn’t able to fly out of Virginia because Patel was using one of the FBI’s two planes for a personal trip.
With sources telling MS NOW that Patel had used the jet to fly to South Florida to visit his parents.
And while the second plane hypothetically should have been available, they were unable to use it because Patel had given the unusual order to hold the aircraft for the Hostage Rescue Team.
But that team normally wouldn’t be asked to respond to the scene — especially because there was already a SWAT team at the FBI’s nearby Boston Field office that could have handled the matter.
And even then, the whistleblower said that Patel’s order to put the Hostage Rescue Team on standby — it wasn’t communicated to the team in the first place.
So, as a result, the shooting reconstruction team had to drive from Virginia to Rhode Island overnight during a winter storm and didn’t reach the scene until the following morning.
Now, with all this, you had a spokesperson for the FBI denying the allegations.
Claiming that Patel was in DC the day Kirk was killed and “in New York the next day for the 9/11 ceremonies - not personal travel.”[]
But he also appeared to confirm that Patel was indeed flying for personal travel to visit his parents in Florida during the Brown shooting, though he did push back on the claims that the claimed that the top evidence response team wasn’t needed.[][]
Arguing that the team from the FBI’s Boston office arrived two hours after the shooting, but also claiming at the same time that the case was initially a state-led homicide investigation and the FBI wasn’t initially needed and played “an assisting role” later.
With him also claiming that Patel’s travel wouldn’t have interrupted the FBI’s response because when the director is out of town, “he always offers the plane if needed anyway - and he did so here,” but “it wasn't needed.”
But, as we talked about in Monday’s show, this isn’t the first time Patel’s travel has come under scrutiny — I mean, Durbin only opened this investigation into him amid allegations that he took multiple flights to see his girlfriend, the country singer Alexis Wilkins.[]
And all of this is pretty fucking ironic given that Patel himself repeatedly slammed his predecessor, Christopher Wray, for HIS use of the FBI jets during his tenure.
With Patel even saying in 2023 that the FBI should “ground” Wray’s jet “that he pays for with taxpayer dollars to hop around the country.”
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