EXCLUSIVE — Former Trump staffer Kash Patel signaled he would investigate leading Democrats if named to a top position at the Justice Department, even as he denied prosecution would be “revenge” against former President Donald Trump’s political opponents.
Patel, who has been floated as a possible attorney general if Trump wins in November, expressed openness to revisiting Trump’s complaints that everyone from ex-FBI Director James Comey to New York Attorney General Letitia James deserves jail time.
“It’s simple. If they broke the law, you prosecute them, criminally or civilly,” Patel told the Washington Examiner on Monday at a Trump campaign event in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. “If they broke the law, use the Constitution, that’s it.”
His remarks came in response to Trump’s escalating rhetoric against Democrats he describes as the “enemy from within.” A week ago, Trump said the military could “very easily” handle his detractors on Election Day.
Patel, a national security official Trump once considered for deputy FBI director, dismissed the uproar over Trump’s latest comments as “another disinformation campaign,” denying that he has some “revenge list.”
“What the president has stated simply, whether it’s DOJ, FBI, DOD — we’re just going to stop the politicization of law enforcement, intelligence,” he said.
But Patel’s comments suggest a second Trump Justice Department would be willing to pursue sweeping investigations into officials Patel and other loyalists deride as part of the “deep state.”
“When you catch the speaker of the House lying about Jan. 6, when you catch an FBI director lying to a federal court for an illegal surveillance program, when you catch the CIA intel communities twisting intelligence about the origins of COVID just because they want to get a political position achieved, those are things that need to be looked at,” Patel said.
“Now, I don’t know if everyone or anyone broke the law, but if you did, why not prosecute?” he added.
Trump, for his part, has liberally suggested the arrest of political opponents, from ex-Rep. Liz Cheney, who chaired the Jan. 6 committee, to Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), who led his first impeachment trial in the House.
His calls extend to journalists who refuse to reveal the source of government leaks.
In office, Trump faced resistance to his demands for prosecution. He could face similar opposition in a second term, as Cabinet officials, including the attorney general, must be confirmed by the Senate.
But Trump allies have suggested interim appointments as a way to skirt that requirement. Matthew Whitaker held the job of attorney general in an acting capacity for 15 months after Trump pushed out his predecessor, Jeff Sessions.
Donald Trump Jr., a member of his father’s transition team, said a similar model could be used to name someone like Patel to the attorney general post.
“You almost have to just put them in as interim even, just to send that shot across the bow of the swamp, you know? Like — you want to play?” Trump Jr. said on his podcast last year.
Patel would be one of many candidates under consideration for a senior role, but then-Attorney General Bill Barr refused to appoint him as deputy director of the FBI, citing his relative inexperience for the job.
Patel, 44, served as a staffer on the House Intelligence Committee before quickly ascending the national security ranks in the Trump administration.
Like Barr, Gina Haspel, the CIA director at the time, threatened to resign when Trump entertained Patel’s appointment as deputy director for her agency.
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Patel told the Washington Examiner he has not spoken with Trump about a job, instead praising the “deep bench” Trump would have to choose from for administration posts.
“The only role I’m pursuing is to get him to Nov. 5 and winning,” Patel said. “I don’t care about anything else. If he wants to call me after, great, if not all good.”