Kash Patel ‘not up to the job’: US senator says FBI director ‘blew it’ with his handling of Charlie Kirk’s killing case
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Kash Patel ‘not up to the job’: US senator says FBI director ‘blew it’ with his handling of Charlie Kirk’s killing case")
FBI Director Kash Patel testifies during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on "Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation" on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on September 16, 2025. Photograph: (AFP)
The Democratic senator told reporters that he believes Patel “blew it” with his handling of the investigation. He further claimed that the FBI director is “not up to the job.”
As Kash Patel appeared in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, US Senator Peter Welch on Tuesday (Sep 16) slammed the FBI Director, accusing him of “promoting himself” rather than cooperating with local law enforcement in the investigation into the assassination of President Donald Trump’s ally Chalie Kirk. The right-wing activist was fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday (Sep 10). The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested a twenty-two-year-old, Tyler Robinson.
The Democratic senator told reporters that he believes Patel “blew it” with his handling of the investigation. He further claimed that the FBI director is “not up to the job.”
“He blew it, and he was about promoting himself, rather than cooperating with local law enforcement, that I think did a really good job,” Welch said, according to CNN. “He’s not up to the job. He’s putting himself first, and the fact is that there should be coordination and cooperation. And what you saw, it was kind of an overreach on the part of him, on a personal basis.”
Patel testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee, where the top Democrat lashed out at him for his handling of the case, including the time when he wrongly claimed that the “subject” was in custody.
Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin said Patel said, “Mr. Patel was so anxious to take credit for finding Mr. Kirk’s assassin that he violated one of the basics of effective law enforcement: at critical stages of an investigation, shut up and let the professionals do their job.”
The FBI Director said that he ordered the public release of the photos of the suspect, following which an arrest was made just a “few hours later.” He added that the suspect’s father told investigators, “When I saw that video that you released, I recognized it was my son and I confronted him.”
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