Kash Patel put up an unbothered front after he was caught partying in Italy on taxpayers’ dime.
The FBI director, 45, caused uproar Sunday when he was pictured celebrating with Team USA after its overtime Olympic victory over Team Canada in the men’s hockey final. Videos captured Patel guzzling beer in a chest-thumping celebration in the locker room—even after the FBI confirmed, “it’s not a personal trip.”
“For the very concerned media - yes, I love America and was extremely humbled when my friends, the newly minted Gold Medal winners on Team USA, invited me into the locker room to celebrate this historic moment with the boys,” Patel wrote on X just before 2 a.m. local time. “Greatest country on earth and greatest sport on earth. 👊🏼🏒”
Last week, FBI Assistant Director for Public Affairs Ben Williamson defended Patel from a CBS News report indicating that he had used an agency jet to fly to Italy for the Winter Olympics.
“No, it’s not a personal trip,” Williamson said. “Director Patel is on a trip that was planned months ago. It includes partner meetings with Italian law enforcement and security officials (they invited the Director last July), meeting with Ambassador Fertitta (as a follow-up to our law enforcement roundtable he hosted in January), meetings with Legat staff, and more.”
According to a report from MS NOW, eight former FBI and Justice Department officials sent the outlet a copy of the video showing Patel partying in the locker room, noting that it was “drawing outrage” as it was shared in their circles.
The outlet also reported that some former FBI agents have compared Patel’s use of FBI resources, including its fleet of private jets—which he has previously used to travel to an NHL game and visit his girlfriend—with that of William Sessions, the first FBI director in history to be fired.
During his confirmation hearing in January 2025, Patel went out of his way to stress that the FBI’s resources, “which are funded by American taxpayer dollars,” would go to solving crime.
“In the seven minutes that you and I have been talking, two people have died from fentanyl overdoses, one person has been shot to death in this country, and three people have been raped,” he said.
“The resources of the FBI will go to that mission set and that mission set alone, because America deserves a better brand of justice and I’m gonna give it to them.”
Patel has also previously criticized his predecessor, Christopher A. Wray, for his use of the bureau’s private planes.
“I’m just saying Chris Wray doesn’t need a government-funded G5 jet to go to vacation. Maybe we ground that plane. $15,000 every time it takes off. Just a thought,” Patel said in 2023.
As the videos of his partying circulated, Patel posted a message to X celebrating the win.
“Unity, Sacrifice, Attitude- what it takes to be the best in the world,” Patel wrote. “These men live and breathe it. Now Team USA are gold medal champions, legends standing on the shoulders of giants. Thank you for representing the greatest country on earth, in the greatest game ever created. congrats boys.”
Patel, an avid hockey fan, previously responded to news that the NHL would allow its players to compete in the Olympics in July with a post on X.
“NHL agreed to let the boys play in the next Olympics this coming winter- first time in over a decade… Team USA, I’ll see you there.”
Patel’s Italian trip comes as the FBI continues to struggle to locate 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, mother of Today host Savannah Guthrie, after her abduction earlier this month. Patel also spent Valentine’s Day weekend in New York City with his girlfriend, country singer Alexis Wilkins, as the manhunt continued, with the pair attending the wedding of Rep. Guy Reschenthaler together.
It also comes amid a military operation in Mexico that resulted in the death of the head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of the world’s most-wanted drug traffickers, and a subsequent order for Americans in the area to shelter in place due to safety concerns.
“Due to ongoing, widespread security operations and related road blockages and criminal activity in many areas of Mexico, U.S. citizens should shelter in place until further notice,” the State Department announced on Sunday.
Patel posted on X—while watching the game from a box inside Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, according to The New York Times—about an armed man who was shot and killed after entering the secure perimeter of Mar-a-Lago.
“FBI is dedicating all necessary resources in the investigation of this morning’s incident at President Trump’s Mar-A-Lago - where an armed individual was shot and killed after unlawfully entering the perimeter,” Patel wrote. “We will continue working closely with @SecretService as well our state and federal partners and will provide updates as we are able.”
