Cnn
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The choice of President Donald Trump to manage the FBI, Kash Patel, minimized his past promotion of the theories of the right conspiracy and his promises to pursue reprisals against Trump’s opponents on Thursday at his combative Senate confirmation audience.
The Democrats of the Senate judicial committee past comments Presence of rioters who attacked the American Capitol on January 6, 2021, his public influencer in the Movement of the Conspiracy of Qanon and his promise to go after the current officials and former Ministry of Justice and the FBI that he has Put on a list of “corrupt actors. “”
So far, no republican has publicly declared their opposition to the appointment of the patel, and none has raised concerns at the hearing. The Democratic senators have grilled a patel throughout the day, but he said they were extracts from old cherry picking comments to make it look like.
The role of the director of the FBI is supposed to be a 10 -year term, to isolate the policy post. After winning in November, Trump clearly indicated that he would fire the FBI chris Wray chief, So Wray resigned. Consequently, Patel is now on a clear path to direct the FBI very soon.
Here’s what you need to know about Thursday’s audience:
Reminction was the primordial theme of the day.
The Democrats went to the well -documented record of the patel – in television interviews, the appearances in podcast, his books and his publications on social networks – to call sanctions against people who, according to them, are part of ” the deep state ”who tried to undermine Trump.
They raised concerns about what they called a “list of enemies”, of the patel book in 2023, “Gangsters government”. CNN reported That some of the 60 civil servants on this list take drastic measures to protect their families, fearing that the Pate will arrive at its FBI powers.
“I have no interest, no desire and I will not, if confirmed, go back,” said Patel. “There will be no politicization at the FBI. There will be no compensation measures taken by the FBI. »»
Clutch later said“This is not a list of enemies – it is a bad total characterization.”
Before the hearing, some advisers had encouraged Patel to regret themselves for his comments on people on his list. He did not take this path during the hearing.
And during the hearing, CNN reported The fact that certain senior FBI leaders are promoted by Wray have been demoted or reallocated, nourishing fears of internal complaints. Patel said at the hearing of Thursday that he was not aware of any intention to punish FBI agents involved in the various Trump probes and that “no one will be terminated for cases.”
Although Patel says he didn’t want to look back, republican legislators encouraged him to do this exactly. They have raised criticisms on the 2016 Trump-Russia survey, the Hunter Biden survey and other actions they believe to be motivated through anti-Trump.
In his declaration of opening, Senator Chuck Grassley, president of the GOP judicial committee, said that he thought that the leaders of the Ministry of Justice and the FBI who previously investigated Trump “had not yet learned a Lesson and I hope you will learn this lesson for them – or teach this lesson.
Later in the hearing, the Senator of the GOP John Kennedy of Louisiana asked Patel: “Do you believe in the adage that two wrongs do not make a right – but they even do it?”
“The senator, I think that if someone makes a mistake in government services, the American public deserves to know all the absolute details of this corrupt activity,” replied Patel.
These investigations that the Republicans want Patel to continue Do you have a confrontation Between the FBI patel and other American intelligence agencies, which were also involved in the Russian survey. Patel and these agencies got tangled on this subject and in others for years.
Under the interrogations of the Democrats, Patel said that he is opposed to switching This was released from prison hundreds of rioters sentenced on January 6 who attacked police.
“I do not agree with the switching of a sentence of anyone who has committed violence against the police,” he said, who turns away from Trump.
On the first day of Trump’s power, he pardoned more than 1,200 rioters condemned and granted switches to 14 convicted people linked to extremist groups of the far right. These leniency actions released from hundreds of violent rides of prison, many of whom attacked the police.
“As for January 6, I have often, often, publicly and private, there can never be tolerance for violence against the police,” Patel to the legislators told.
But the Democrats argued that his comments were fallacious because he helped collect funds January 6 defendantsof which some accused and recognized guilty of violent crimes for crime, such as members of the police of the American and breathtaking Capitol.
The woman builds a retirement for delinquents forgiven on January 6
On the theme of January 6, there was a combative exchange between the patel and the Senator of California Adam Schiff – who is at a newspaper their service On the Chamber’s intelligence committee during Trump’s first term.
Schiff dared Patel to get up and apologize to the police of the American Capitol “keeping you today”. Patel refused and retorted: “What if you ask them if my back?”
Patel refuted the democratic allegations according to which he was a “conspiracy theorist” by saying that he thought that Qanon “without foundation”, despite his praise for the movement which promotes the false notion that the best democrats are at the head of An international pedophilia cabal.
“I publicly, including in the interviews provided to this committee, squarely rejected the theories of the baseless conspiracy of Qanon … They must be addressed head -on with the truth and I will continue to do so,” said Patel.
THE Qanon conspiracy theory emerged during Trump’s first term. The members claim that Trump has been divinely selected to destroy a “deep state” network of democratic politicians, corrupt government officials and celebrities who love Satan and sexually abuse children.
Direct patel repudiation in Qanon was A very different approach compared to his past.
He previously courted parts of the Qanon community. On one Podcast pro-Trump In 2022, Patel said: “The thing is a movement. Many people get attached to it. I do not agree with a lot of what this movement says, but I agree with what a lot says about this movement. »»
CNN A previously reported The fact that some members of the Qanon community, including prolific right influencers and podcastors, are enthusiastic about the appointment of the Patel FBI.
He also complained that the Democrats who had poorly targeted and twisted his words on Qanon, as he did throughout the day on a variety of subjects. He refused to answer many questions by saying the Democrats several times: “I do not have the full quote before me.”
“Information extracts are often misleading,” said Patel at some point.
He said several times He would concentrate his energy on other subjects such as the fight against drug trafficking, gang hunting and rapists and to protect the country from foreign terrorism.
Hannah Rabinowitz of CNN, Devan Cole and Holmes Lybrand contributed to this report.