Monday on CNN’s “The Lead,” former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe said FBI Director Kash Patel’s trip to the Olympics was “ridiculous.”
Host Jake Tapper said, “I know that Republicans on Capitol Hill are embarrassed about this, not just Democrats. Do you think Director Patel, partying with team USA in Italy was appropriate? And what do you make of the FBI’s explanation for why he was in Italy? You’ve certainly taken meetings around the world.”
McCabe said, “I mean, the video is ridiculous, and it was completely inappropriate for him to be engaging, to go at all. Let’s be honest. The excuse that he had to go for security meetings the day before the games are over is patently ridiculous. Director Mueller once traveled to Greece to consult with partners on the security arrangements for the Greek Olympics eight months before the games began. That’s when the sort of details and arrangements are made that an FBI director needs to weigh in on to make sure that others understand the role of the bureau and those sorts of things. It’s not the day of the final hockey game. And, of course, now we know exactly what he is doing there. Horrible, horrible message to the FBI rank and file. It’s absolutely I’m sure that this video is coursing through that population today. And a horrible message to the country when the FBI is in the middle of such incredibly important investigations. Everything from the notorious kidnaping now in its fourth week of Nancy Guthrie all the way to we may be on the brink of war with Iran. Now, I can tell you from having been in that position before, when you are on the brink of hostilities with a country that is a sponsor of terrorism, the FBI is right now using a microscope – or they should be – to go through all of their records to find Iranian sleeper agents in the United States.”
Tapper said, “It’s impossible to imagine the former FBI director, Chris Wray, ever doing something like this, even though he was forced out by Trump.”
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