FBI Director Kash Patel is facing fresh criticism after a video appeared to show him celebrating in the Team USA hockey locker room at the Olympics, just a day after his spokesperson dismissed reports of the trip as false. The controversy started when MS Now published a story claiming Patel flew to Italy on taxpayer money to attend the Winter Games. Ben Williamson, the FBI’s Assistant Director of Public Affairs, hit back hard on X. He called the report wrong and said the outlet ignored information proving it false.
“Your rag outlet wrote that [Patel] went to hang out at the Olympics on the taxpayer dime – even when provided information that your theory was false,” Williamson wrote. “When you’re ready to correct that let me know. Won’t hold my breath.”
Things flipped quickly when a clip surfaced online. The short video, originally posted (and later deleted) on Team USA player Dylan Larkin’s Instagram, showed Patel inside the locker room after the U.S. men’s team won gold.
A political commentator shared it on X, writing: “Kash Patel was accidentally recorded on Team USA’s Dylan Larkin’s Instagram video (now-deleted) celebrating with Team USA in the locker room after the Gold medal game, even though the FBI Assistant Director of Public Affairs claimed it was false when MSNow Journalists reported that Patel was going to the Olympics on Taxpayers’ dime.” The post added, “Caught in a lie.”
Patel Posts His Own Photos
We can assume the video is genuine because Patel has shared his own pictures from the hockey game on X. In the caption he wrote: “Unity, Sacrifice, Attitude- what it takes to be the best in the world. These men live and breathe it. Now Team USA are gold medal champions, legends standing on the shoulders of giants. Thank you for representing the greatest country on earth, in the greatest game ever created.” The photos and caption came amid the growing backlash.
Questions About Cost to the Taxpayer
People online started asking how much the trip cost taxpayers. Some estimates put the flight alone at around $75,000. Williamson, a per a report from The Independent, tried to explain the travel. He said Patel was in Italy for official meetings with ambassadors, Italian law enforcement, and U.S. agents at the FBI’s legal attaché office. He also pointed out that the FBI plays a big role in Olympics security planning.
But the locker-room video and photos made many skeptical. Comments on social media were sharp. One person wrote: “So tired of funding vacations for Kash Patel and Kristi Noem.” Another said: “Kash Patel was just EXPOSED for partying with Team USA at the Winter Olympics. The excuse for his trip was meetings with law enforcement but in reality it was just Kash abusing taxpayer funds to party.” A third added: “Our tax dollars just paid for Kash Patel to go hang out at the Olympics and then he got caught lying about it. Seriously.”
Past Criticism Over Travel
This isn’t the first time Patel has faced questions about using government resources for personal trips. Last year he was accused of taking a Gulfstream jet for private use, including flights to see his girlfriend, country music singer Alexis Wilkins. Reports also mentioned a golf trip to Scotland, hunting in Texas, and “date nights” with Wilkins.
At the time, Patel defended himself on Fox News with Laura Ingraham. He said he used the plane less than the two FBI directors before him. “I’ve also used the airplane less than my prior two predecessors,” he told Ingraham. “And, yes, I’m entitled to a personal life just like my other agency counterparts with their partners. Do I support my girlfriend? Absolutely. And I do take trips with her? Absolutely.”
Federal rules require officials like Patel to reimburse the government for any personal use of planes or other resources.
