Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee want FBI Director Kash Patel to turn over the flight logs of his agency’s jet, citing reports of his alleged “date night” with his girlfriend and other examples of personal use.
In a letter to Mr. Patel, the Democrats list numerous excursions: his girlfriend’s concert at a wrestling match at Penn State University, visiting a luxury Texas hunting resort and a golfing excursion in Scotland.
Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, ranking Democrat of the committee, and Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove of California are demanding to know “why American taxpayers are being forced to foot the bill for his leisure travel, as reports indicate Patel has repeatedly abused taxpayer-funded government jets for personal travel.”
This comes after a saga of media reports said Mr. Patel chartered the FBI’s Gulfstream G550 to visit his girlfriend, country music singer Alexis Wilkins, and attend fundraisers and sporting events.
Mr. Patel has dismissed the allegations as politically motivated.
FBI directors are required by executive branch policy to use government aircraft for air travel, which also includes taking family or friends on personal trips, but they must reimburse the government for personal flights.
Mr. Raskin and Ms. Kamlager-Dove said that after flight records and Ms. Wilkins’ social media posts exposed Mr. Patel’s jet usage, he fired Special Agent Steven Palmer, who oversees the agency’s aviation operations.
They said he attempted to cover his tracks by shielding the FBI’s plane from public flight-tracking databases and continued using the aircraft for personal travel.
In May, Senate Democrats made a formal request for the Government Accountability Office to review Mr. Patel’s use of the FBI’s jet.
“Mr. Patel, these planes are not yours. They are the property of the U.S. Government and are paid for by the American people,” the House Democrats said in the letter. “You have come to embody the corruption the American people despise. You should name your new government plane ‘The Flying Swamp Monster.’”
Mr. Raskin and Ms. Kamlager-Dove requested the FBI director’s travel records by Dec. 15, including an account of any reimbursements owed, justifications for each passenger’s travel and communications related to those trips.
As minority party members of the committee, the two Democrats do not have the congressional subpoena power to require the records, but can request them.
