How Kash Patel Ordered Himself a New Fleet of BMWs With FBI Money |
Kash Patel made the FBI buy a custom fleet of armored BMW X5 for him to ride around in, according to MS NOW. The standard version of the X5 costs about $70,000.
“It offers protection not just against attacks with blunt instruments and handguns, but also against the world’s most widely used firearm, the AK-47,” the car’s description reads.
Patel’s FBI spokesperson claimed—without evidence—that this is actually saving the American taxpayer money.
“Government agencies, including the FBI, routinely evaluate, replace and update vehicle fleets based on usage, security needs or budgetary decisions,” Ben Williamson told MS NOW. “The specific decisions referenced in this article were evaluated partly as a way to save taxpayers millions by picking cheaper selections or making cost structures more efficient.”
This is yet another instance of Patel’s questionable use of taxpayer funds for his own personal benefit. In late October, Patel was caught using a $60 million government jet to visit his girlfriend, country singer Alexis Wilkins, at a wrestling event at Penn State before using it to fly back to her home in Nashville. He assigned her a personal SWAT team for her “protection.” Patel defended these decisions profusely, calling his girlfriend a “rock-solid conservative and a country music sensation.” He even requested that the FBI buy a new jet—presumably so that he can take Wilkins on more dates. This request was denied given that the cost was estimated to be between $90 million and $115 million.
There was also the jacket fiasco, in which Patel wouldn’t even get off a plane to investigate the murder of his friend Charlie Kirk until someone got him a special FBI raid jacket—his specific size, and with all the right patches on it. He ended up taking a jacket from a female agent and patches from various other agents.
Patel is moving like some kind of celebrity when the two most notable events of his tenure are the failure to quickly find and detain Charlie Kirk’s shooter and the Brown University shooter. Both instances saw Patel’s FBI go days with no leads until independent citizens came forward, leading to bipartisan questioning over Patel’s competence.
It’s already happening: CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss just killed a story on 60 Minutes that would have humiliated President Donald Trump.
In a leaked email Sunday evening, CBS News correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi notified her colleagues that Weiss had “spiked” a forthcoming story about CECOT, the notorious prison in El Salvador where the Trump administration previously deported immigrants the government claimed were gang members.
“Our story was screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices. It is factually correct,” Alfonsi wrote. “In my view, pulling it now—after every rigorous internal check has been met is not an editorial decision, it is a political one.”
Alfonsi said that she and a colleague had not been afforded the courtesy of an explanation for why the story had been killed.
CNN reported that Weiss had raised concerns about the story on Saturday after Alfonsi was unable to get any Trump administration sources. She’d reportedly furnished the reporters with White House chief of staff Stephen Miller’s phone number.
In her memo, Alfonsi explained that she’d reached out to the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department, and the White House, but heard nothing back. She argued that the government’s unwillingness to comment shouldn’t have killed the story.
“If the standard for airing a story becomes ‘the government must agree to be interviewed,’ then the government effectively gains control over the 60 Minutes broadcast,” she wrote. “We go from an investigative powerhouse to a stenographer of the state.”
“The public will correctly identify this as censorship,” Alfonsi added.
In a statement to The New York Times, Weiss said: “My job is to make sure that all stories we publish are the best they can be. Holding stories that aren’t ready for whatever reason—that they lack sufficient context, say, or that they are missing critical voices—happens every day in every newsroom. I look forward to airing this important piece when it’s ready.”
Since Weiss began her tenure as editor-in-chief of CBS News, she has revealed a rather boring vision for her network’s coverage: bringing Americans to the center. So far, it seems that just involves sucking up to glorified right-wing pundits she hopes will stop by for interviews. This latest move highlights Weiss’s desperation to stay on the Trump administration’s good side—a dangerous place for any serious news organization to be.
Here was the trailer for the cancelled segment:
BREAKING: CBS just pulled this episode of 60 Minutes claiming it is “postponed” Here is the trailer that was pulled for the now “postponed” segment.
Make sure everyone sees it.
It’s remarkable how much harm Pro-Trump Bari Weiss has managed to inflict on CBS News in such a… pic.twitter.com/gccW338rFF
Representatives Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie are attempting to hold Attorney General Pam Bondi in contempt and fine her for every day she doesn’t release the full Epstein files.
The representatives’ bipartisan bill requiring the Justice Department to release the files passed through Congress, leading to the release of hundreds of thousands of heavily redacted images and documents on Friday. But the DOJ didn’t release all of the files by the deadline. Khanna is worried about the DOJ’s “selective concealment” of documents that may implicate President Trump, who was a good friend of........