FBI Director Kash Patel is defending his trip to the Winter Olympics this weekend after he was seen partying with the U.S. men’s hockey team following their win over Canada on Sunday.
Patel flew to Milan for the last few days of the Olympics on Thursday, reportedly taking the bureau’s jet for the trip. A top FBI official insisted at the time that the excursion was “not a personal trip” and included official business, such as meetings with Italian police officials and U.S. Ambassador to Italy Tilman Fertitta.
While the bureau maintains those were the main purposes of the trip, it also coincided with the final hockey games of the Olympics, including Team USA’s gold medal match, which Patel, an avid hockey fan, attended.
He was seen in a box taking in the game between the U.S. and Canada, which the U.S. won 2-1 in overtime, securing their first gold medal since 1980. Patel would go on to post pictures of him with the team members in the locker room after the game, applauding their win.
“Unity, Sacrifice, Attitude- what it takes to be the best in the world. 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,” he said in the X post.
But hours later, Patel found himself in the hot seat. Footage circulating on X showed him raucously celebrating with the team, including chugging a beer and splashing its contents around the locker room. One of the team members also put a gold medal around his neck as he jumped in the air and sang along to “Courtesy Of The Red, White And Blue (The Angry American)” by Toby Keith.
The clip led to Patel defending his actions in a statement to X on Sunday night.
“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- Greatest country on earth and greatest sport on earth,” he said.
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Sunday’s incident is the latest of Patel’s travel to be scrutinized. Last year alone, he was accused of using a government jet for a golfing trip in Scotland, a hunting trip in Texas, and a “date night” in Pennsylvania with his girlfriend. Patel has defended such travel.
While as FBI director he is required to use a government jet for security purposes, such travel uses taxpayer funds. The cost of the Milan trip is not known, but MS NOW previously estimated it could cost as much as $75,000.
