Senator Chris Van Hollen has upped the ante against Kash Patel by pointing out that the FBI director was actually under oath when he spontaneously agreed to take an alcohol test during his Senate hearing.
Van Hollen, 67, appeared on Meet the Press Sunday, and was asked by host Kristen Welker: “Do you have any indication that he’s actually going to take that test or do you think that that was a challenge that to some extent you did just to prove a point?”
“Well, he said in public testimony that he would do it. He’s also under oath automatically in the sense that lying to Congress is a crime. So, he said he’s going to do it,” the Maryland senator stated.
Van Hollen has now taken the the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test himself. Considering his experience of the self-reported exam, the Democrat added that if Patel did take the test, he wouldn’t trust him to respond truthfully.
Van Hollen has now taken the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test himself — a standardized, self-reported questionnaire developed by the World Health Organization to screen for problematic drinking patterns.
Having gone through the process firsthand, the Democrat said the exercise exposed a key flaw in applying it to Patel: it only works if the person taking it tells the truth.
“My sense from Patel’s conduct overall is he may or may not do it, but I, unfortunately, won’t be able to believe the results, because in that hearing, he did lie several times,” he said.
Earlier in the interview, Van Hollen was asked whether the FBI could “function effectively with Director Patel in charge,” after a bombshell report from The Atlantic accused him of drinking and sleeping on the job—claims which Patel has vehemently denied.
Van Hollen was clear in his lack of faith in Patel. “I don’t, but it’s not simply because of this issue. The fact that there are so many reports that indicate that his drinking has meant he’s incapacitated at many times,” he said.
“As I’ve said, Kristen, I really don’t care what he does in his free time, so long as he’s not putting the public at risk, so long as he’s not compromising his important mission as director of the FBI.”
Van Hollen then insisted: “But beyond this, we also have the fact that he has completely weaponized the FBI.”
Claiming that Patel “went after” agents who had investigated the January 6th rioters and Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, the senator summarized: “So I think he needs to go for a whole host of reasons.”
During the hearing on Capitol Hill Tuesday, Van Hollen asked whether Patel would undergo an “audit test” to measure his relationship. “I’ll take any test you’re willing to take,” Patel responded, adding: “Let’s go. Side by Side,” when Van Hollen agreed.
Just a day later, Van Hollen posted his own results on X, writing: “Yesterday,@FBIDirectorKash told me he’d take the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test if I did. Well, here’s mine. Given all the lies he told yesterday, I imagine he’ll fudge the numbers here, but let’s see yours, Director Patel.”
