FBI Director Kash Patel's penchant for using the agency's private jet for personal excursions—including to a Texas hunting lodge called Boondoggle Ranch—has caused new controversy inside the bureau and the White House, reports the Wall Street Journal. The latest trip, which occurred during the government shutdown, was exposed by Kyle Seraphin, a former agent who called it "pathetic." The trip involved stops in Pennsylvania for a wrestling event featuring Patel's girlfriend, country singer Alexis Wilkins, then to where she lives in Nashville, Tennessee, before the final leg to the Texas ranch owned by a Republican donor.
The saga has fueled criticism from DOJ officials, who say Patel's travel flouts White House directives to limit nonessential trips, especially those unrelated to President Trump's agenda. Officials have been circulating details about Patel's travels, including a previous jaunt to Scotland, as evidence of what they see as questionable judgment. Patel is required by law to fly on the FBI's jet for security reasons, but he must reimburse the government at the commercial rate for personal trips—a fraction of what private flights actually cost.
People notes about two years before the trip to Pennsylvania and Nashville, Patel had slammed the man who led the FBI before him, Christopher Wray, for using his private jet "to hop around the country." "Chris Wray, hey, you don't need a government-funded G5 jet so you can fly off to the Adirondacks for vacation," Patel had said at the time, per the Journal.
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Patel has brushed off the concerns swirling around him, calling those who air them "clickbait haters." "Thankfully, Americans can see through WSJ hot garbage," he says in a statement to the Journal. "This FBI has never been stronger." The Independent, which has more on Patel's "chaotic reign," notes that Patel has also come under fire for his "communication style" and "jumping the gun" on talking publicly about investigations.
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