FBI Director Kash Patel is going through a brand new controversy over a snorkeling tour he took to one of the crucial hallowed locations in the USA.
Whereas on an official go to to Hawaii final summer season, Patel took a uncommon VIP snorkeling tour of Pearl Harbor, as first reported Thursday by The Related Press.
The U.S. Navy confirmed the tour happened in an announcement Thursday to ABC Information.
The tour was organized for Patel by the U.S. Navy and included swimming close to the wreckage of the united statesArizona, the place 900 U.S. sailors and Marines died within the Japanese assault on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel testifies throughout a Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Associated Businesses listening to on Capitol Hill, Could 12, 2026 in Washington.
Win McNamee/Getty Pictures
The AP reported it found the snorkeling tour by way of authorities emails obtained by the information outlet.
The snorkeling tour was not on Patel’s public schedule launched on the time of his go to.
“All individuals acquired a radical security briefing for the evolution to incorporate medical plans and standing guidelines for swimming in shut proximity (however not over) the united statesARIZONA,” Navy spokesperson Capt. Jodie Cornell stated in an announcement to ABC Information. “Individuals are additionally briefed to not contact/come into contact with the united statesARIZONA in anyway. This temporary additionally covers the historic significance of the Memorial as the ultimate resting place/tomb for a whole bunch of service members and that everyone ought to deal with the positioning with the respect and dignity that it deserves.”
Cornell additionally described it as “customary apply” for the Navy to “associate with native management to host and assist distinguished guests within the space when requested.”
The FBI didn’t deny that the snorkeling tour happened final August, with company spokesperson Ben Williamson describing it in a submit Thursday on X as a “historic tour to honor our heroes who died on the united statesArizona – not a celebration.”
“As a part of our engagements within the Indo-Pacific theater, the IndoPacom Commander graciously supplied to host the Director and group at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, as they generally do with US authorities officers on official journey,” Williamson stated in a separate assertion to ABC Information. “This was a part of the Director’s public nationwide safety engagements final August with counterparts in New Zealand, Australia, our Honolulu Discipline Workplace, and the Division of Conflict.”
The united statesArizona Memorial is a public web site reachable by boat and managed by the Nationwide Park Service, according to the memorial’s web site. In uncommon situations, the NPS and Navy organize snorkeling excursions just like Patel’s for different VIPs.
The united statesArizona Memorial is seen earlier than a ceremony to mark the 83rd anniversary of the Japanese assault on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 2024, in Honolulu.
Mengshin Lin/AP
The snorkeling tour taken by Patel highlights rising issues amongst critics of the FBI director that he’s probably utilizing his public workplace to attain private perks.
Throughout the Winter Olympics in February, Patel was seen on camera ingesting beers with the U.S. males’s hockey group as they celebrated their gold medal win.
Patel, a hockey fan, was stated to have had conferences in Italy previous to attending the sport. He reiterated that declare throughout a Could 12 hearing with the Senate Appropriations Committee, saying he was there to safe the extradition of a high cybercriminal from the China and to assist with Olympic safety.
Patel, who was confirmed as FBI director in February final yr, confronted further questions within the Senate listening to on alleged misuse of FBI assets and a narrative in The Atlantic that alleged he has had “bouts of extreme ingesting” and job efficiency points.
Within the listening to, Patel known as the report a “whole farce.” He has sued The Atlantic over the article, demanding $250 million in damages.
The Atlantic stated final month, when the lawsuit was filed, that it stands by its reporting.
“We stand by our reporting on Kash Patel, and we are going to vigorously defend The Atlantic and our journalists in opposition to this meritless lawsuit,” the journal stated in an announcement.
The White Home, in the meantime, is standing by Patel, calling him a “important participant.”
“Beneath President Trump and Director Patel’s management on the FBI, crime throughout the nation has plummeted to the bottom stage in additional than 100 years and lots of excessive profile criminals have been put behind bars. Director Patel stays a important participant on the Administration’s regulation and order group,” White Home spokesperson Steven Cheung stated in an announcement to ABC Information Thursday.
ABC Information’ Luke Barr and Sarah Beth Hensley contributed to this report.
