Cabinet for Conspiracy (5)

Kash Patel – seriously, Donald?!

“shadowy officials... overstepped boundaries...illegal surveillance... manipulated narratives... unscrupulous dealings... distorted intelligence... widespread corruption... take back the White House... remove the gangsters... a sinister cabal... defeat the Deep State...” Need I say more?

This is the fifth Trump cabinet pick I’ve researched. After each one, I think: “Okay, it’s going to calm down. The next one will be a seasoned, respected leader with expertise in a closely related field and demonstrated commitment to democracy for all Americans.” Dang! I just can’t get it right, and the Kash Patel story hasn’t made it any better.

Donald Trump would, of course, disagree with me. He has called Mr. Patel "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." (That was a social media post, naturally.) So, let’s see what the facts tell us.

Who is Kash Patel?

Wikipedia reports that Patel was born in 1980, given the name Kashyap and raised Hindu. His parents had immigrated to the US from East Africa via Canada. He received a certificate in international law from University College London and a Juris Doctor from Pace University School of Law. Patel started his career in 2005 in Florida as a public defender. In 2014 he became a trial attorney for DOJ National Security Division and simultaneously served as a legal liaison to Joint Special Operations Command. In 2017 he was appointed senior counsel on counterterrorism at the House Intelligence committee. He served as chief of staff to the acting United States secretary of defense during the first Trump presidency.

Let’s talk about his recent book

So, that’s a brief bio, but I always find that a good look at what a person has written and published is a great eye-opener, so let’s now consider Patel’s 2023 book, Government Gangsters: the Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for our Democracy. First I sought a summary from a website called Shortform, and here’s a brief version of what I found: Patel alleges that unchecked government institutions and shadowy officials overstepped boundaries, compromising integrity. Authorities like the FBI, Department of Justice, and intelligence bodies misused powers and resources against political rivals, especially against President Trump, through illegal surveillance, impeachments, and manipulated narratives around Russia and January 6. The author suggests deep state factions undermined civilian control over the military, and the book alleges that defense contractors raked in tax dollars through unscrupulous dealings, while officials leaked damaging information and distorted intelligence to benefit partisan agendas. The book paints a picture of widespread corruption and abuses threatening democratic systems.

Then I went to the Amazon site where I was invited to actually purchase the book, and I found this promotional content about Patel’s book. Amazon first points out what Donald Trump has to say about the book:  “A brilliant roadmap highlighting every corrupt actor, to ultimately return our agencies and departments to work for the American People…we will use this blueprint to help us take back the White House and remove these Gangsters from all of Government!” Well, now we’ve got another “blueprint” for the second Trump administration in addition to Project 2025. Good to know.

The breath-taking Amazon promotion continues: “The highest levels of government have been infiltrated by an anti-democratic Deep State that can be defeated by refocusing our national security mission and relentlessly defending the truth.

“A sinister cabal of corrupt law enforcement personnel, intelligence agents, and military officials at the highest levels of government plotted to overthrow a president. Even after they failed, they continue to secretly pull the levers of power without any accountability to the American people. This isn’t the synopsis of a fictional spy thriller. This is what is actually happening in the United States government.

“In Government Gangsters, Kash Patel — a former top official in the White House, the Department of Defense, the Intelligence Community, and the Department of Justice — pulls back the curtain on the Deep State, revealing the major players and tactics within the permanent government bureaucracy, which has spent decades stripping power away from the American people and their elected leaders. Based on his firsthand knowledge, Patel reveals how we can defeat the Deep State, reassert self-government, and restore our democracy.”

And that’s just his book!

An “official” bio?

It’s hard to know where to turn next. So much has been written and said about this man, and he has been quoted over and over, saying what I consider quite outrageous things. Then again, the official statement of the US Department of Defense regarding Patel is rather glowing. Here’s a bit of it: Mr. Patel served as the former Chief of Staff to Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller and is responsible for leading the mission and the executive staff and advising the Secretary on the Department’s operations. Previously... he oversaw the execution of several of President Trump’s top priorities, including eliminating ISIS and Al-Qaida leadership, and the safe repatriation of numerous American hostages. [Note: I have searched for confirmation that this is true. I can’t find it.] He... oversaw 17 intelligence agencies and provided the President’s Daily Briefing.

Before joining the NSC, Mr. Patel... spearheaded the investigation into the Russian campaign to influence the 2016 presidential election. He also oversaw sensitive Intelligence and Special Forces programs... Patel was a terrorism prosecutor at the Department of Justice (DOJ), where he led investigations and oversaw the prosecution of criminals aligned with Al-Qaida, ISIS, and other terror groups... working with counterterrorism units to target high value terrorism targets... He is a life-long ice hockey player, coach, and fan.

But what do other sources say?

And then I turn to other trusted sources to see what they have to say about this devoted hockey player, and it’s so different. Frank Figliuzzi, Jr. is (according to Wikipedia) an American former law enforcement agent and author who served as assistant director for counterintelligence at the FBI. He was previously the special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Cleveland Division, which includes all of northern Ohio, and the major cities of Cleveland, Toledo, Youngstown, Akron, and Canton. Of course I see Figliuzzi on TV, reporting on stories related to the FBI and law enforcement, but I know, as I listen, that this is a man who’s been on the front lines he’s discussing. So I tend to trust him.

Here's part of what Frank Figliuzzi has said about the Patel pick for FBI: “Kash Patel’s problems go beyond his incompetence. The Patel pick tells us the most about Trump’s plan to subjugate the rule of law to his own rules — minus the law part... His record shows no devotion to the Constitution, but blind allegiance to Trump. Patel helped spread the fabricated conspiracy theory that the 2020 election was rigged against Trump. He has promoted the conspiracy of a ‘deep state’ within government institutions whose aim is to topple Trump. Court findings and the jury system are things that should matter to an FBI director, yet Patel seems not to care that more than 60 court challenges found no evidence of fraud in the 2020 election.” Figliuzzi calls Patel “a wannabe cop planning on false arrests and fabricated evidence.”

NBC News tells pretty much the same story, reporting: Patel has promoted false claims that the 2020 election was stolen and that a secret ‘deep state’ cabal tried to overthrow Trump. The network calls him “a 44-year-old loyalist with little management experience in federal law enforcement... has earned a reputation as an extreme Trump loyalist who has... called for a purge of perceived Trump enemies from the FBI... A former senior law enforcement official who interacted with Patel in the past said he was not qualified for the position: ‘It's ridiculous. He's arguably the least qualified person ever nominated for a senior position in federal law enforcement,’ said the former official, who asked not to be named citing fears of retaliation from Trump.”

NBC further reports that, when Trump had proposed Patel run the FBI previously, William Barr “vehemently opposed it.” In his memoirs Barr wrote, "Patel had virtually no experience that would qualify him to serve at the highest level of the world's preeminent law enforcement agency.” In an interview with Bannon, “Patel vowed to go after judges, lawyers and journalists who, in Patel’s view, had improperly investigated Trump and stolen the 2020 election. He said, “we’re going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections.”

According to NBC, Trump also suggested that Patel serve as the deputy CIA director. Then-CIA Director Gina Haspel, a career intelligence officer, threatened to resign if Patel was installed. 

The Associated Press is another source I’ve trusted through the years, so I searched for their comments on the Patel nomination. Here’s something of what I found: “That close bond [with Trump] would depart from the modern-day precedent of FBI directors looking to keep presidents at arm’s length.” The AP notes that both James Comey and Christopher Wray refused to cozy up to Trump in his first administration, remaining independent and objective.

The AP tells us that Patel has signaled through interviews and public statements a determination to “upend the FBI and radically reshape its mission.” He’s called for dramatically reducing its footprint and limiting its authority, as well as going after government officials who disclose information to reporters. He has vowed to sever the FBI’s intelligence-gathering activities from the rest of its mission, and he threatened that “We’re going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections.”

As for the accusation that DOJ had acted inappropriately in investigating “potential ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign,” the AP stated that “an inspector general... concluded that the inquiry had been opened for a legitimate purpose and found no evidence that the FBI had acted with partisan motives in conducting the probe... Patel has played a role in several legal investigations into Trump,” the report added. These included the grand jury case of Trump having classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

“Shortly after Trump left office,” the Associated Press report continues, “Patel launched Fight with Kash, an organization that funds defamation lawsuits and peddles a wide variety of merchandise, including branded socks and other clothing with the ‘K$H’ logo.”

Just two more surprises...

I don’t know if you’re aware that Patel has written a line of children’s books in which he plays the “wizard” defending “King Donald.” I was not aware of it until recently. The Associated Press tells us, “’The Plot Against the King’ features a thinly veiled Hillary Clinton as the villain going after ‘King Donald’ while Kash plays a wizard who thwarts her plans.”

And that leaves just one more terrifying fact my research uncovered: Patel has endorsed, on Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform, “Warrior Essentials,” an anti-vaccine diet supplement that he said would “reverse” the effects of vaccines. Where on earth did that come from?!

Again, I am left with questions:

  • If Donald Trump appointed Christopher Wray to lead the FBI, why is he planning to fire him before his term expires?

  • And, if he wants to do better than Christopher Wray, why Kash Patel? Why not a loyal fan with actual law enforcement experience?

  • What is the ultimate vision behind all of these ridiculous nominations? What does Trump actually hope to achieve? Does he really see himself as America’s Hitler? Is that why he’s placing unqualified toadies in leadership roles?

  • Should I be afraid?