Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
FBI Director Kash Patel is set to return to Capitol Hill on Tuesday for an oversight hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, with Republicans and Democrats expected to focus on sharply different issues. The Republican-led panel is likely to highlight his efforts to tackle violent crime, counter drug trafficking and carry forward the Trump administration’s agenda at the FBI.
Democrats, however, are expected to focus on the turmoil inside the bureau over the past year, including the sweeping firings of agents involved in investigations into President Donald Trump, efforts by the FBI to investigate Trump’s perceived political adversaries, and Patel’s travel schedule, which has mixed private leisure with official responsibilities. It will be Patel’s first appearance before the Senate committee with primary oversight of the FBI since last September.
advertisement
Patel has appeared before Congress several times as director, including to testify on the FBI’s budget, but his last appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee was marked by heated and personal exchanges with Democrats. During that hearing, Patel at one point shouted over Senator Adam Schiff of California as he called him an “utter disgrace” and a “coward”. Schiff replied, “You can make an internet troll the FBI director, but he will always be an internet troll.”
Tuesday’s hearing is expected to be similarly contentious, with Democrats continuing to question Patel’s leadership and conduct. The committee’s top Democrat, Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, called in April for Patel to be replaced as director after The Atlantic published an article that raised allegations of excessive drinking.
Patel later filed a USD 250 million defamation lawsuit, calling the article false and a “malicious hit piece”. The Atlantic said it stood by its reporting and would vigorously defend against what it called a “meritless lawsuit”. The hearing on Tuesday is set to bring both the FBI’s priorities and the criticism surrounding Patel’s tenure back into focus.
With PTI Inputs
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
