FBI Director Kash Patel defended his leadership during a combative appearance before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, fielding sharp criticism from both parties.
The nearly five-hour hearing saw Patel pressed on a wide range of issues, from the FBI’s refusal to release full witness statements in the Jeffrey Epstein case, to the rise in political violence after Charlie Kirk’s assassination, to the director’s defense of deploying the National Guard in Memphis.
Lawmakers also clashed over allegations pushed by Democrats about an alleged cover-up involving Trump’s ties to Epstein, whether more information is coming about the bureau’s use of informants on Jan. 6, and whether the FBI is responding evenly to extremist threats from both the Right and the Left.
Patel, appointed by President Donald Trump in February, has faced growing scrutiny over transparency and law enforcement tactics, including from Democrats who accused him of evading questions and protecting political allies.
Here are the top takeaways from the hearing:
FBI under fire for withholding Epstein witness names
Republicans and Democrats pressed Patel over the bureau’s refusal to release full witness statements in the Epstein investigation. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) said FBI “302” reports, interview summaries prepared after agents question witnesses, identify “at least 20” powerful men linked to Epstein’s trafficking network, and accused the bureau of protecting them. Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) called Patel part of a “cover-up.”
Patel denied the claims, saying the FBI has released more records than any previous administration and blaming sealed court orders. “I welcome the challenge to tell us we are not being as transparent as the law allows,” he said.
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) pressed Patel on whether he told Trump or Attorney General Pam Bondi that Trump’s name appears in the files. Patel denied speaking with Trump, but when asked about Bondi, said only that they had “numerous discussions” about the records.
SWALWELL: Did you ever tell Donald Trump his name is in the files?
PATEL: I have never spoken with Donald Trump about the Epstein files
SWALWELL: Did you ever tell the AG that Trump’s name is in the Epstein files
PATEL: The AG and I have had numerous discussions about the… pic.twitter.com/91JNkuuOa6
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 17, 2025
Swalwell accused him of playing a “huge shell game” and said the court “calls bulls***” on Patel’s arguments. When Swalwell accused Patel of evasion, Patel shot back: “I’m gonna borrow your terminology and call bulls*** on your entire career in Congress. It’s been a disgrace for the American people.”
.@FBIDirectorKash NUKES @RepSwalwell: “I’m going to borrow your terminology and call BULLSHIT on your entire career in Congress. It has been a disgrace to the American people.” pic.twitter.com/CKJwn5crMr
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 17, 2025
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) accused Patel of covering up Trump’s role and blasted him for avoiding survivors, saying, “Is the answer yes or no to whether or not you met with these women who were sexually abused and raped?” Patel responded only that the bureau is “man-hunting child predators and sex traffickers.”
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the committee’s top Democrat, pushed to subpoena four banks, including JPMorgan, which reported $1.5 billion in suspicious Epstein-linked transactions.
At the close of the hearing, House Republicans voted to table several Epstein-related motions introduced by Democrats, effectively blocking efforts to advance further inquiry.
The failed motions included subpoenas for banks that processed Epstein-linked transactions, testimony from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, and a request to question the director of the Bureau of Prisons regarding the decision to transfer Ghislaine Maxwell to a lower-security facility. The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is leading the investigation into all matters related to Epstein, and is poised on Friday to interview Alex Acosta, a former prosecutor who brokered the infamous 2008 plea agreement that resulted in Epstein serving only 13 months for two counts of soliciting prostitution, including with a minor.
Massie, who has led a bipartisan discharge petition to force a full release of the Epstein records, pressed Patel on why the FBI hasn’t pursued the men identified in its own reports. Patel replied that multiple U.S. attorneys under three administrations found no grounds for prosecution and admitted he had not read every 302.
Lawmakers also raised Epstein’s alleged CIA connections and Patel’s presence when Bondi distributed “Epstein Files” binders to conservative influencers. Goldman pressed Patel on whether videos or photos implicating others remain sealed. Patel insisted most of the material is child abuse evidence and said, “We are providing everything we can legally provide.” Goldman concluded, “You are hiding the Epstein files. You are part of the cover-up.” Patel called that “categorically false.”
Patel open to investigating Epstein birthday card allegedly signed by Trump
Patel said he is open to investigating a birthday card allegedly signed by Trump and included in Epstein’s 50th birthday book after Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) pressed him on whether it constituted a forgery.
Trump has denied signing the card, which was produced to Congress by Epstein’s estate in response to a House Oversight subpoena. Moskowitz argued that if the signature is fake, it could amount to a criminal forgery linking the president to “the world’s largest pedophile ring.”
PATEL: The estate of Epstein has a voluminous amount of information that they have not released
LIEU: Wouldn’t it be great if the FBI subpoenaed the estate?
PATEL: The estate is under no obligation to provide that information
LIEU: That’s just false. You’re the frickin’ FBI!… pic.twitter.com/FmLS3KCmbt
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 17, 2025
“Sure, I’ll do it,” Patel replied after a brief sparring over the basis of the inquiry.
Lawmakers clash with Patel over rise of political violence
In the wake of the Kirk assassination, lawmakers and pundits have sparred about whether a specific political side is disproportionately responsible for political violence. Trump himself has said, “The problem is on the Left.”
Rep. Larry Nadler (D-NY) asked Patel whether he would say if there is political violence perpetrated by “both sides.” Patel responded that he believes there is too much political violence “based on ideologies from either side.”
Utah County prosecutors say the suspect, accused of murdering Kirk, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, targeted Kirk based on his political expression. Three of the seven charges Robinson faces carry victim targeting enhancements under Utah law for targeting a victim based on their political beliefs.
Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX) warned that “assassination culture is spreading,” and argued that political rhetoric has helped fuel violence. He declared, “Charlie Kirk is not dead because of what he’s saying. Charlie Kirk is dead because people listen,” and asked Patel whether the trend he’s seeing is “left-wing or right-wing violence.” Patel answered, “We solve this by giving the FBI more authorities to go into and work with the private sector … there are too many online platforms … infecting the minds of our children, infecting them with radical ideology.”
Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT) pressed for even-handed responses from authorities, saying the FBI’s reaction to some killings has led Americans to fear “we’re valuing some lives more than others” and asking, “Can we expect in the future that related to one killing will be the same level of concern?” Patel replied generally that investigators are “following money” to disrupt the infrastructure behind attacks.
Democrats also pushed back on attempts to blame only the Left. “There are extremes on the left and there are extremes on the right, and we collectively should tackle that,” Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) said. “But to come here and just look at us and say we all support what’s going on in the extremes is why we can’t solve anything in this building.”
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) went further, accusing Patel of ignoring threats that she said come disproportionately from the right. “I don’t know who feels safe in this country, except for the white supremacists,” she told him. “The numbers are so very clear that white supremacy is a problem… and honestly, I’ve not heard anything happening today that makes me believe that you’re doing anything about it.”
Several Democratic lawmakers pointed to a recent Cato Institute study that found a majority of political murders since 1975 were motivated by right-wing ideology, while other members pointed to a recently removed study on the Justice Department’s website that found right-wing extremists commit “far more” violence.
Concerns about FBI staffing and priorities
The hearing repeatedly returned to questions over how the FBI is allocating its resources under Patel’s leadership, with Democrats charging that he has hollowed out the bureau’s expertise and Republicans praising him for refocusing on violent crime.
Rep. Lou Correa (D-CA) raised alarms about the impact of budget cuts and vacancies, pointing to a series of recent threats, from school shootings to assassination attempts to cyber scams targeting seniors. “Director Patel, you’re the thin blue line. Yet [it is] your job to protect our citizens back home,” Correa said. He warned that the president’s proposed budget could cost the FBI “about 1,300 less jobs,” and relayed that his own sheriff had expressed concern about the loss of federal grants. “If that thin blue line is not full, people on Main Street will pay the price,” Correa warned.
Patel acknowledged the budget pressures but insisted the bureau was managing effectively. “I think we are doing our job, and this mission is the budget that we have,” he said, stressing that California and other states were still receiving major FBI field clusters. “We are collecting more resources… no state is getting [reduced].”
Democrats were unsatisfied. Raskin accused Patel of “systematically purging the FBI of its most experienced and qualified agents, division leaders, and experts in counterterror, counterintelligence, and cybersecurity.” Raskin warned that the shake-ups “left all of us less safe than before.”
Rep. Debra Ross (D-NC) accused Patel of politicizing personnel decisions despite pledging in his confirmation to avoid politics. She pointed to a lawsuit by veteran agent Ryan Driscoll, who alleged he was questioned about his political leanings before being dismissed, as well as to the firings of other FBI leaders. “Director Patel, it is very clear that you have flunked your own test,” Ross said. Patel rejected the charge, insisting, “Any insinuation…that personnel decisions are being made for political reasons is false.”
Republicans defended Patel’s approach. Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) said Patel had “taken bad guys off the streets” by moving agents out of Washington headquarters and into field work. “He’s rescued 4,000 kids. He’s got 1,300 predators he’s arrested. Twenty-one thousand violent criminals have been taken off the streets,” Jordan said, calling it proof that Patel was prioritizing crime-fighting over bureaucracy.
Rep. Darrel Issa (R-CA) also praised Patel’s redeployment of personnel, highlighting that “1,000 personnel [were] deployed across this country on permanent cases in every single state.” Issa said Patel had been willing to cut back headquarters staff to boost front-line enforcement, something Issa argued had been missing in previous administrations.
Patel was asked directly whether Americans are safer now than they were nine months ago. He pointed to statistics showing drops in the murder rate in Washington, D.C., and other cities, arguing that redeployments had delivered results “at historic speed.” Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) praised the answer, suggesting that by focusing on violent criminals rather than “weaponizing law enforcement,” the FBI finally produced measurable progress.
Republicans air grievances over FBI under Democrats
Republicans turned the hearing into a broader indictment of how the bureau operated under Democratic administrations, casting Patel as the first director in years to restore focus on crime.
For Jordan, the contrast was clear. He accused the FBI of having “spied on parents at school board meetings” and targeted anti-abortion activists, saying Patel had redirected the bureau back to its real mission. “Maybe when you’re not focused on politics, you can actually do what the FBI is supposed to do, go after the bad guys,” Jordan argued, before pointing to Patel’s record of “23,000 bad guys off the streets” and thousands of children rescued.
Issa offered a different angle, commending Patel for opening FBI files to Congress after years of what he called stonewalling during the Russia inquiry and Jan. 6. “That’s the kind of openness and transparency we’re seeing from this administration,” Issa remarked, urging Patel to make it permanent.
On tribal issues, Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY) said the Biden administration had ignored Native communities while wasting resources on political surveillance. She insisted Patel’s testimony proved the DOJ had the tools to protect reservations but chose other priorities instead. “Your testimony proves that the Biden administration did not lack the resources to address violent crime in tribal communities,” she said. Patel countered that Indian Country remained “an absolute priority,” pointing to 1,900 open cases and 600 indictments this year. “We cannot forget tribal lands,” he told the committee.
The exchange with Rep. Russell Fry (R-SC) brought the report of former special counsel John Durham into focus. That 2023 review criticized the FBI for rushing to investigate Trump’s 2016 campaign, relying on unverified opposition research and displaying “confirmation bias.” Fry highlighted newly unclassified annexes that, he noted, showed the Obama administration had intelligence in 2016 about Democratic efforts to “scuttle the FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server” and to “falsely connect Trump to Russia.” He framed the findings as proof that the FBI had been misused for partisan ends.
“This is evidence you unclassified and released to the American public,” Fry said. “What it shows, and what the Durham report showed, is that the FBI was used as a political weapon. That cannot be disputed.”
Patel promises more transparency on Trump-Russia collusion investigation and Jan. 6 informants
Patel said the bureau will continue releasing classified records related to the discredited Trump-Russia investigation and pledged to review whether FBI informants were paid during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Pressed by Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX), Patel confirmed that more declassifications tied to the Crossfire Hurricane inquiry are on the way In July, Patel authorized the release of 1,400 pages of material, including the formerly classified Durham annex, which outlined evidence that former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s campaign sought to falsely link Trump to Russia and detailed FBI misconduct in the Carter Page FISA process.
Meanwhile, Jordan questioned whether FBI informants present in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021, received taxpayer money, even on occasions when they may have broken the law.
“Generally speaking, confidential human sources are always paid by the FBI,” Patel said, but he declined to confirm specific instances, promising: “I’ll get back to you on that.”
A December DOJ watchdog report found 26 FBI informants were in Washington that day, but noted none were authorized to enter the Capitol or incite violence.
Other Republicans followed Jordan’s lead. Issa asked how Patel would prevent informant abuses in the future.
Patel said reforms were underway, with the FBI ensuring that agents “do what they were trained to do, not what they were not,” and promising closer oversight of source networks.
Director says National Guard is needed in Memphis crime crackdown
Patel told lawmakers the National Guard must be deployed to Memphis to help federal agents complete the next phase of a sweeping crime crackdown in the city.
“We don’t have the manpower to give us the space” to operate safely, Patel said, warning agents “can’t work inside perimeters that are not established and safe.”
The comments came two days after Trump signed a memo creating the Memphis Safe Task Force, modeled after federal operations in Washington D.C., where National Guard troops have supported perimeters for agencies including the FBI, ATF, and ICE.
Patel said FBI agents have already made 500 arrests and obtained 110 federal indictments in Memphis, but need National Guard support to enter remaining high-crime zones. Local Democrats have voiced concern that the Guard could alarm residents and tarnish the city’s image, with Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) warning the move could deter visitors.