MSNBC writer says Kash Patel as FBI director 'would be like if you crossed Alex Jones with J. Edgar Hoover'
MSNBC opinion writer Hayes Brown said Sunday that President-elect Trump’s pick for the head of the FBI, Kash Patel, “would be like if you crossed Alex Jones with J. Edgar Hoover."
“Kash Patel as FBI director would be like if you crossed Alex Jones with J. Edgar Hoover, in terms of just how much he would want to ignore precedent and the constraints that have been put onto the FBI over the years,” Brown told journalist Sam Stein on MSNBC, in a clip highlighted by Mediaite.
The choice of Patel as the FBI head has resulted in mixed reactions from lawmakers and ex-officials. Republicans, however, have praised Patel's selection.
“It’s a terrible development for the men and women of the FBI and also for the nation that depends on a highly functioning professional independent Federal Bureau of Investigation,” former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe said Saturday.
In a Saturday post on Truth Social, Trump called his potential FBI director “a brilliant lawyer, investigator, and ‘America First’ fighter who has spent his career exposing corruption, defending Justice, and protecting the American People.”
“He played a pivotal role in uncovering the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, standing as an advocate for truth, accountability, and the Constitution,” he added.
Patel has a history of pushing for mass firings, notably at the FBI and Justice Department, and the rescinding of security clearances for those who investigated Trump during his 2016 presidential bid.
“Kash Patel displays the one thing Donald Trump cares about, which is loyalty,” Brown said Saturday. “He has been through, with Trump, by his side, thick and thin, since before he was even a part [of the administration.]”
The Hill has reached out to the Trump transition team and Jones’s Infowars for comment.