Kash Patel, also known as Trump’s Loyalist FBI Director, is accused of diverting a portion of the bureau’s budget as a “slush fund” to offer incentives to agents who support him.
On Monday, House Judiciary ranking member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., sent Patel a letter informing him that his committee is examining the accusations.
Raskin explains in a sternly worded letter how Patel may be handing out tens of thousands of dollars in cash to the agents who guard him and the loyalists who carry out his orders.
Patel claims that his office has distributed more than $1 million in “bonus” payments, or roughly $8,000 per person every two weeks, to agents who had already maxed out their legal compensation. The funds depleted so quickly that several payments rejected.
Raskin posits two scenarios in his letter: either it’s “a corrupt attempt to slide cash to friends,” or payments paid “to ensure silence” from agents who see Patel’s alleged wrongdoing on the job.
“By issuing these side payments, your office may be knowingly breaking federal law,” Raskin said.
Raskin also claimed that some of the agents earning incentives were aware of Patel’s “inebriation and accompanying professional negligence and misconduct.” The congressman was responding to reports that Patel’s drinking habits are hurting his performance.
Raskin wanted internal bonus payment records, including communication, payments, a list of agents on his advisory team, and other data. He demanded the records by June 29.
Kash Patel may have just given us a peek of how a dictatorship decays. When those responsible with enforcing the law are accused of using taxpayer money, mostly off the books and out of sight of monitoring, to pay others who break the law for them, the issue is far more serious than a few questionable bonuses.
You’re no longer looking at the Justice Department. You’re seeing a protection racket with a federal seal on its letterhead.
Make no mistake: these are government gangsters.
