The assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk has put FBI Director Kash Patel in a tough spot, as questions have been raised from various corners about his capability to lead the bureau under pressure.
His first goof-up in the high-profile case came when he falsely claimed in a social media post that the suspect in the shooting was in custody. While two men had been detained, they did not have anything to do with the shooting, and the killer remained at large.
"The subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody," said Patel, only to retract later, saying, "The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement."
As the search for the shooter stretched on for over a day, the director vented in an expletive-ridden virtual video meeting with FBI personnel about what he perceived as a failure to keep him informed about the investigation proceedings, including that he was not quickly shown a photograph of the suspected shooter.
On Friday morning, as the authorities announced the arrest of the suspect at a news conference, Patel claimed credit for certain investigative steps. Patel claimed that the decision to release photos and videos to the public was made at his direction, and this has led to the capture of the suspect, Tyler Robinson.
However, this did not go down well with even some of the FBI employees who found it inappropriate for Pate to claim credit for the investigation. According to CNN, his style was in contrast to the previous directors of the bureau, who would credit the employees for cracking such high-profile cases.
Patel's response did not go unnoticed in conservative circles. One prominent strategist, Christopher Rufo, posted on X that it was time for Republicans to assess whether Kash Patel is the right man to run the FBI.
“We would be wise to take a moment and ask whether Kash Patel has what it takes to get this done,” Rufo wrote in the post, adding, “I’ve been on the phone the last few days with many conservative leaders, all of whom wholeheartedly support the Trump Administration and none of whom are confident that the current structure of the FBI is up to this task.”
He was backed by conservative commentator Erick Erickson, who claimed that "The FBI situation is concerning."
Meanwhile, the decision of the FBI to hold on to the gun allegedly used by the suspect until late Thursday before handing it over to ATF for analysis has also attracted criticism.
Besides, Patel’s recent decision to fire experienced FBI officials, including the Salt Lake City office head whose team covered the university where the assassination of the activist took place, is being blamed for hampering the investigation’s efficiency.
According to an AP report, Patel will soon face congressional oversight hearings where he will be posed not just questions about that investigation but broader doubts about whether he can stabilise a federal law enforcement agency fragmented by political fights and internal upheaval.
