‘This Guy Will Come Back to Haunt You’ – Senator Slams Kash Patel’s FBI Nomination

Rhode Island Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse didn’t hold back in the US Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, Feb. 13, as he spoke out against President Donald Trump’s nominee for FBI Director, Kash Patel. Whitehouse warned that Patel’s appointment would put the country at risk, especially when it comes to Russian threats.

“Who defends us against Russian intelligence operations and Russia’s criminal operations in the United States? It’s the FBI, it’s the Department of Justice, and it’s our intelligence community,” Whitehouse said.

“The people in charge of each one have sent powerful signals that they are shutting down our defenses when it comes to Russia,” he added.

Patel’s nomination has sparked major controversy, leading Democrats to delay a key vote on his confirmation, which was scheduled on Feb. 6.

There were fiery exchanges at Patel’s confirmation hearing on Jan. 30 as Democrats brought up a list of 60 supposed “deep state” actors – all critics of Trump – he included in a 2022 book, whom he said should be investigated or “otherwise reviled.”

Patel has denied that he has an “enemies list” and told the committee he was merely interested in bringing lawbreakers to book, AFP reported.

This week, concerns deepened when the FBI was forced to release names of agents who investigated the Jan. 6 insurrection – raising fears that Patel, if confirmed, would go after them as political revenge.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will continue reviewing Patel’s nomination in the coming weeks.

“So mark my words. This Patel guy will come back to haunt you.” He insisted that concerns about Patel aren’t coming from Democrats alone, saying: “Every piece of evidence shows that, and it is not Democrat evidence. It’s his own words. It’s his own colleagues, and it’s judges evaluating his credibility.”

Whitehouse then touched upon the Munich Security Conference, where he said, “we are seeing Mister ‘Art of the Deal’ and his operatives giving away every piece of leverage that we have over Putin with respect to Ukraine.” He called it “unilateral disarmament” and warned that “throwing Ukraine under the bus” would only give Putin exactly what he wants.

“Trump-Russia is gonna come roaring back if it’s not already back. We should be on our guard about this nominee, and we should be on our guard about Trump-Russia,” Whitehouse said.