Fox News host Sean Hannity strongly defended FBI Director Kash Patel on Monday night, praising his performance at the helm of the bureau despite a wave of coordinated mainstream media attacks regarding the director’s personal life.
“Obviously, you’re doing an incredible job,” Hannity told Patel during the interview. “The numbers do speak for themselves.”
The high-profile backing comes as Patel fights back against a series of leaks and critical reports aimed at his leadership, including allegations regarding his use of the FBI jet and his personal conduct. Last month, The Atlantic published a highly critical report claiming Patel mistakenly thought President Donald Trump had fired him during a routine computer lockout. The article also relied on government insiders to claim that “members of his security detail had difficulty waking Patel because he was seemingly intoxicated, according to information supplied to Justice Department and White House officials,” even alleging that detail members at one point considered using “breaching equipment” to get through a locked door.
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The media scrutiny has also targeted Patel’s celebratory behavior, including a viral video of him chugging a beer with the U.S. men’s hockey team following their gold medal victory, as well as a recent report regarding a “VIP snorkel” excursion at the USS Arizona memorial in Pearl Harbor. Patel has aggressively pushed back against the press coverage, filing a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic.
Patel’s appearance on the program occurred hours after a tragedy in San Diego, where two teenage gunmen opened fire at a local mosque, killing three people before committing suicide. Hannity noted the attack during his show, but used his time with the FBI Director to address a broader, systemic rise in threats targeting faith communities across the nation.
“Director, I know a lot of pastors, I know a lot of rabbis around the country,” Hannity said. “Without exception, they have all upped their security level to the highest levels they’ve ever had to before. Why does it appear that churches and synagogues are being targeted like never before?”
Patel did not mince words, pointing directly to a fundamental hatred of American freedom and faith as the root cause of the violence.
“Because these people are pure evil,” Patel replied. “These people wish to target Americans based on their faith because they are intolerant of the way America operates. They are jealous of the American democracy that we have here, and they choose to be cowards and target us from afar based on our institutions and our houses of worship and our faith. And that’s what separates America from the rest of the world.”
Hannity agreed with the director’s emphasis on law enforcement and national stability, concluding the segment by stating, “Americans deserve law and order and safety and security.”
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