FBI Director Kash Patel: Accountability Takes Time, "Vindictive" Former Leaders Hid Truth And "Broke The FBI"

FOX News "Sunday Morning Futures" host Maria Bartiromo asked FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino when we should expect the accountability they've been promising for years on things like "Operation Crossfire Hurricane."

"Come on, Director, with all due respect, we've been talking about this for a long time and I’ve been demanding accountability for many, many years," Bartiromo said. "You mentioned Comey, Strzok, and the rest—they got TV shows, they’ve got media platforms, they’re fine. There’s been no accountability."

"It’s a fair criticism," Patel said. "But what I’ll tell people is we weren’t here in the FBI in the last five years when we had statutes of limitations that were still in play."


"I’m just telling you right now, as much as we know about Crossfire Hurricane, he and I just found out more last week, and we’re continuing to work with Congress to put those documents out. That’s how vindictive the former leadership was. Not only did they bastardize the process, they withheld and hid documentation and put it in rooms where people weren’t supposed to look," Patel continued.

Bartiromo follows up: "What do you mean?"

FBI Director Kash Patel smiled and said: "Just give us about a week or two."

Deputy Director Dan Bongino added: "Listen, we’ve been here two months... To expect us in two months to dig up what was an eight-year, maybe longer, multiyear politicized investigation with multiple layers of processes, from Woods procedures just being thrown in the garbage can, flushed down the toilet bowl, to multiple layers of accountability where people lied and obfuscated, I’m not asking you to trust me. You want this done right, or do you want it done quickly?"

"We just can’t focus on one thing. You want New York to go boom? D.C. to go boom?" Bonigno said. "It's not an excuse, it's just reality."

FBI DIRECTOR KASH PATEL: Look, I can speak to the folks that were in our seats, our predecessors, and they intentionally failed the American public by putting on the biggest D.C. deception game we’ve ever seen.

They said the FBI was the most storied institution for law enforcement, and it was, and it will be again very soon. But when the likes of Comey and McCabe and Strzok and company came in here with the James Bakers of the world and intentionally lied to a federal court, only to rig a presidential election by lying, using taxpayer dollars, likely illegally to fund this entire operation and withhold exculpatory information from a federal court that I used to appear before to manhunt terrorists—that’s what broke the FBI.

And then, when they were caught, they lied about it. You and a few others, like Dan, were brave enough to cover it six, seven, eight years ago, and we’re still talking about it today because, as Congress is working rigorously with us, the Crossfire Hurricane documents are coming fast and hard, and they’re being sent there unredacted so we can have full accountability. That’s how you restore the trust that was lost to the American public.

MARIA BARTIROMO: Yeah but come on, Director, with all due respect, we've been talking about this for a long time and I’ve been demanding accountability for many, many years. You mentioned Comey, Strzok, and the rest—they got TV shows, they’ve got media platforms, they’re fine. There’s been no accountability.

KASH PATEL: It’s a fair criticism, but what I’ll tell people is we weren’t here in the FBI in the last five years when we had statutes of limitations that were still in play. Most of these statutes of limitations are five years old, and we will investigate criminal conduct where we find a righteous case to do so. But a lot of it—we’re precluded from.

Could we have done more in the past? Sure, people before us could have. But what we can do now is continue to put out the documents, expose information that these people withheld from the American public. I’m just telling you right now, as much as we know about Crossfire Hurricane, he and I just found out more last week, and we’re continuing to work with Congress to put those documents out. That’s how vindictive the former leadership was. Not only did they bastardize the process, they withheld and hid documentation and put it in rooms where people weren’t supposed to look.

MARIA BARTIROMO: What do you mean?

KASH PATEL: Just give us about a week or two.

MARIA BARTIROMO: Okay. Well, I can tell you right now that the judge that gave a smack on the wrist to the one agent that lied and misled the American people, that’s the same judge who’s back and stopping Donald Trump from doing things, isn’t it? Judge Boasberg?

DEPUTY DIRECTOR DAN BONGINO: Yeah, I just gotta push back. Listen, we’ve been here two months. He’s been here a couple more weeks than that. [Laughter] We’ve been here two months. You’re dealing with a 38,000-member organization and an approximately $12 billion budget—

MARIA BARTIROMO: Fair point.

DAN BONGINO: To expect us in two months to dig up what was an eight-year, maybe longer, multiyear politicized investigation with multiple layers of processes, from Woods procedures just being thrown in the garbage can, flushed down the toilet bowl, to multiple layers of accountability where people lied and obfuscated, I’m not asking you to trust me. You want this done right, or do you want it done quickly? If you want it done quickly, we’ll do it, and you know what will happen—just what happened last time. Those same Spygate, collusion perpetrators sued the government—

MARIA BARTIROMO: But are you saying you found things that even you didn’t know about? You were at the core of this.

KASH PATEL: Yes.

DAN BONGINO: Yes.

KASH PATEL: I was the lead Russiagate investigator for the House Intelligence Committee, and I’ve been on both your shows in a prior life. I’m telling you and the American public that we have now found material and information and people who wanted to hide it from the world since we got in these seats. We, as the Deputy said, are trying to do it in a fashion where not only are we informing the American public about what happened, but we can have accountability for it, and that takes a little bit more time. When you layer on the fact that we are rolling out our priorities on violent crime, we’re running a three-part animal here, and we’re going 100 miles an hour on each single one.

MARIA BARTIROMO: So important.

DAN BONGINO: I want to add to that too. We come in in the morning, there’s a portfolio of 100 level-10 items. If it’s a level 9, which is a pretty big freaking deal, someone else fixes it. The only thing that gets to my desk or his is a level 10. Look at his schedule. I’ll show you the palm card I have. It is filled from 7:30 until he leaves at 7 at night, 6:30 at night. It’s filled all day. We just can’t focus on one thing. You want New York to go boom? D.C. to go boom? You want an organized crime organization to hack into some cyber network and crack all of Fox News’ holdings? We’re dealing with all that stuff too. Everything’s a priority. Everything’s a priority. This is one of many things—it’s not an excuse, it’s just reality.