President Trump’s top mouthpiece has flipped out over criticism leveled at “Keystone” Kash Patel after the FBI director was busted celebrating with a U.S. Olympic team on the taxpayers’ dime.
Patel, who, on becoming FBI director, said resources would go solely toward fighting crime, was pictured celebrating in Italy with Team USA after its overtime Olympic victory over Team Canada in the men’s hockey final.
The 45-year-old hockey buff mingled with the players while guzzling beers and beating his chest as if he were part of the team. He even commandeered a gold medal at one point, looping it around his neck. The fallout was spectacular, with many wondering why the embattled crime chief was in party mode while his bureau struggles to find the missing mother of Today host Savannah Guthrie.
There were also concerns about the nature of the foreign jaunt, given that Patel’s office had insisted it was “strictly” business, according to Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Carol Leonnig.
She provoked the ire of White House communications director Steven Cheung by posting about the saga on X. “Yes - Multiple sources have sent me and @KDilanianMSNOW this video *appearing to show* @FBIDirectorKash Patel guzzling from a beer and partying in locker room w US men’s hockey team. His office insisted this was strictly a business trip. We at @MSNOWNews will share what we learn," she wrote on Sunday evening.
In the early hours of Monday, a bristling Cheung replied. “Carol, you’re either mentally deficient or a liar,” he began.
“This ‘exclusive’ video your ‘sources’ sent you is actually from a publicly available Instagram story. Second, Kash was also in Italy meeting with regional partners and security teams. Third, don’t be mad because America won,” he told the American journalist.
The video comes at a time when the FBI is struggling to locate 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, mother of Today host Savannah Guthrie, after her abduction earlier this month. Apparently work-shy Patel, nicknamed Keystone Kash for his ham-fisted efforts as head of the bureau, also has a growing crisis in Mexico to consider.
A military operation that resulted in the death of the head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of the world’s most-wanted drug traffickers, has sparked chaos on the streets of many places popular with tourists, including Americans.
As a result, Americans in affected areas have been ordered to shelter in place due to safety concerns. “Due to ongoing, widespread security operations and related road blockages and criminal activity in many areas of Mexico, U.S. citizens should shelter in place until further notice,” the State Department announced on Sunday.
Patel also posted on X while watching the Team USA game from a box inside Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, according to The New York Times.
The post came after an armed man was shot and killed when he entered the secure perimeter of Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump’s residence in Florida.
