FBI Director Kash Patel melted down when pressed to answer questions about President Donald Trump’s association with Jeffrey Epstein during a congressional hearing.
The 45-year-old began reciting the ABCs on Wednesday as an apparent delay tactic as Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell repeatedly asked if he ever told Attorney General Pam Bondi that the president’s name was in the so-called “Epstein Files.”
Patel dodged the question twice, so Swalwell asked a third time—this time in a slow, patronizing manner.
“Did you ever tell the attorney general that Donald Trump’s name is in the Epstein files?” Swalwell asked.
Patel, growing irritated at Swalwell’s insistence on receiving an answer, did not appreciate the tone.
“Why don’t you try spelling it out if you’re going to mock (me)?” Patel said.
Swalwell fired back, “Yes, or no?”
Patel responded, “Use the alphabet! No? A, B, C, D, E, F... don’t want to do it?”
Swalwell, given just five minutes to question Patel, continued to push for an answer but decided to move on after asking twice more.
“It sounds like you don’t want to tell us... You have not answered it, and we will take your evasiveness as a consciousness of guilt,” he said.
Things remained fiery throughout the remainder of their interaction.
“I’m going to borrow your terminology and call bulls--t on your entire career in Congress,” Patel said at one point. “It has been a disgrace to the American people.”
Top officials in the Trump administration have deflected questions and criticisms of its handling of the Epstein files for months. After Trump campaigned on declassifying all details about the sex trafficker’s case, he has done little to shed light on the case since returning to the White House.
Contributing to pressure on the administration have been new revelations about Trump and Epstein’s longtime friendship, including a birthday note and doodle he gave to Epstein in 2003.
Trump has also been accused of ordering a prison change for Epstein’s top associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, having the convicted sex predator transferred to a minimum security prison where she can enjoy additional freedoms during her lifetime sentence.
Patel said Wednesday that Trump is “absolutely not” implicated in the Epstein files, but stopped short of explaining why the administration is not able to release details about the case en masse.
The Department of Justice reportedly informed Trump in May that his name was included in the files, but it is unclear in what capacity. It was reported in July that Patel was “pressured” by Bondi to place a thousand FBI agents on 24-hour shifts to dig through about 100,000 Epstein-related records in search of Trump’s name.
Patel, who is reportedly facing internal pressure after he incorrectly announced a suspect was in custody for the assassination of Charlie Kirk, admitted to Swalwell on Wednesday that he has not personally reviewed the entirety of the Epstein case.
“You’re the director of the FBI,” Swalwell responded. “This is the largest sex trafficking case the FBI has ever been a part of. The buck stops at the top. And your testimony today is you have not reviewed all the Epstein files?”
Patel answered, “I’ve been busy providing the safest country this country has seen in modern U.S. history in historic speed.”
