• Economy
  • Editor’s Pick
Money Rise Today – Investing and Stock News
  • Investing
  • Stock
Editor's Pick

4 of the biggest clashes between Patel, Senate Dems at his confirmation hearing

by January 31, 2025
written by January 31, 2025

President Donald Trump’s FBI director nominee Kash Patel sparred with Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday in his lengthy confirmation hearing, where he faced off with lawmakers on issues ranging from Trump’s pardoning of Jan. 6 rioters, his role in elevating a song released by the Jan. 6 inmate choir, and his previous call to shut down the FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. 

He also answered questions about his views on QAnon and on his book, ‘Government Gangsters.’

Here were the four biggest clashes of the day.

Blumenthal: Patel’s actions giving ‘the appearance’ he has something to hide

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., blasted Patel for refusing to share his grand jury testimony from the probe into Trump’s handling of classified documents after leaving the White House.

The charges against Trump were dropped in Florida and New York after he won the presidential election, in keeping with a long-standing DOJ policy against prosecuting a sitting president.

Blumenthal told Patel on Thursday that refusing to share his remarks with the panel gave ‘the appearance’ that he is being less than transparent.  

‘The appearance here is that you have something to hide,’ Blumenthal told him. ‘I submit to my colleagues on the committee, we need to know what the grand jury testimony is … and you have no objection to our seeking it, but you won’t tell us.’

‘Even in a classified, confidential setting, I think that position is disqualifying,’ he said, before adding, ‘What are you hiding?’  ‘Why won’t you tell us?’

Patel declined to give a satisfactory answer. 

‘The appearance here is that you have something to hide,’ Blumenthal said.

Jan. 6 pardons

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., also traded barbs with Patel on Thursday over the president’s sweeping pardon and sentence commutations to the more than 1,500 defendants charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots.

Durbin, the ranking Democrat on the panel, asked whether Patel believed the U.S. is ‘safer’ after the mass pardons were granted, to which Patel attempted to equivocate the action to pardons issued by former President Joe Biden.

He told Durbin that he has ‘not looked at all 1,600 individual cases’ before adding, ‘I also believe America is not safer because of President Biden’s commutation of a man who murdered two FBI agents,’ Patel said, referencing Biden’s decision to commute the sentence of Leonard Peltier, a Native American activist convicted of murdering two FBI agents on a South Dakota reservation. 

The agents’ families, he said, ‘[D]eserve better than to have the man that point-blank range fired a shotgun into their heads and murdered them released from prison.’ 

‘So it goes both ways.’

The January 6 rioters, and their pardons, were a frequent topic of the hearing. 

J6 inmate choir, ‘Justice for All’

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., hit Patel with rapid-fire questions regarding his involvement in and promotion of a song recorded by the ‘J6 Prison Choir,’ a group of Capitol rioters, during their incarceration.

Patel shared the song, ‘Justice for All,’ on social media. He said that at the time he ‘did not know about the violent offenders,’ noting that he ‘did not participate in any of the violence in and around Jan. 6.’

In response, Schiff gave Patel a harsh public dressing-down over the violence and assault endured by the Capitol Police on Jan. 6, 2021.

‘Turn around and look at them,’ Schiff told Patel before motioning to the officers lined up for protection along the back of the room.

Patel declined to do so.

‘I want you to look at them if you can, if you have the courage to look them in the eye, Mr. Patel. Tell them you’re proud of what you did,’ Schiff said.

‘Tell them you’re proud that you raised money off of people that assaulted their colleagues, that pepper sprayed them, that beat them with poles. Tell them you’re proud of what you did,’ Schiff said, adding, ‘They’re right there. They are guarding you today.’

Booker doubles down on classified documents

New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker’s questions to Patel regarding any efforts by Trump to declassify documents after leaving the White House were among the most heated moments of the hearing. 

Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, asked Patel repeatedly whether he witnessed Trump handling documents marked as classified or moving to declassify them after leaving the Oval Office. 

‘In the name of all the values you have said today, did you or did you not testify to witnessing the president of the United States declassify documents?’ Booker asked, his voice rising several octaves.

Patel told Booker he did not know if the documents he saw being declassified at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida were seized by FBI agents in the special counsel probe, and he urged Booker to obtain them legally. 

‘The question is: Will you lie for the president of the United States?’ Booker said. ‘Would you lie for Donald Trump?’

‘No,’ Patel said.

Booker urged Patel to testify to the Senate over what he said to the grand jury.

It ‘would be utterly irresponsible for this committee to move forward with his nomination …  if we do not know that the future head of the FBI would break the law and lie for the president of the United States,’ Booker said.

‘He’s refusing the transparency that he claims to adhere to. He is refusing to be direct with the United States Senate,’ he continued.

‘Did he or did he not lie for the president? That is the question.’

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
0 comment
0
FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

previous post
Senate advances Trump’s energy secretary nominee to final confirmation vote
next post
Trump health secretary nominee RFK Jr survives heated hearings ahead of crucial confirmation votes

related articles

Vance visits church where Christians believe Jesus was...

October 23, 2025

New poll in key showdown for Virginia governor...

October 23, 2025

Americans could face airport chaos if Dems don’t...

October 23, 2025

Inside Trump’s ultimatum that forced Netanyahu to the...

October 23, 2025

Vance rebukes Israel on ‘very stupid’ vote to...

October 23, 2025

Top Republican slams Katherine Clark for admitting suffering...

October 23, 2025

Vance calls Psaki comments about wife Usha ‘disgraceful’

October 23, 2025

Trump yet to endorse in VA governor’s race...

October 23, 2025

DAVID MARCUS: Trump’s ballroom is no vanity project,...

October 23, 2025

Examining the next threat from Communist China: Our...

October 23, 2025
Enter Your Information Below To Receive Free Trading Ideas, Latest News, And Articles.


Your information is secure and your privacy is protected. By opting in you agree to receive emails from us. Remember that you can opt-out any time, we hate spam too!

Latest News

  • Republicans look to stop China’s ‘backdoor’ tariff dodging scheme

    May 22, 2025
  • Q1 2025 Global PC Shipments Surge on Tariff Fears

    April 9, 2025
  • Vail stock struggles as strike leads to long lines at Park City Mountain

    January 6, 2025
  • Middle East: US Seeks to Deter Future Attacks

    August 15, 2024
  • DOGE’s plans to offload government buildings supported by former GSA official

    March 16, 2025

Popular Posts

  • 1

    Secret Service admits leaning on ‘state and local partners’ after claim it ignored Trump team’s past requests

    July 21, 2024
  • 2

    Five more House Democrats call on Biden to drop out, third US senator

    July 19, 2024
  • 3

    Forex Profit Calculator: Maximize Your Trading Potential

    July 10, 2024
  • 4

    Elon and Vivek should tackle US funding for this boondoogle organization and score a multimillion dollar win

    December 4, 2024
  • 5

    Biden calls to ‘lower the temperature’ then bashes Trump in NAACP speech

    July 17, 2024

Categories

  • Economy (829)
  • Editor's Pick (6,506)
  • Investing (634)
  • Stock (941)

Latest Posts

  • Waltz doubles down on Hegseth praise amid ongoing Pentagon controversy

    April 27, 2025
  • ‘Perfect storm brewing’ that will leave many aging seniors without necessary care, Dem lawmaker warns

    March 12, 2025
  • Israeli forces seize documents that reveal Hamas plan for more elaborate attacks: report

    October 15, 2024

Recent Posts

  • New poll shows what Americans think of Trump’s record-setting first 3 weeks

    February 13, 2025
  • Mideast oil powerhouse bans Russian ‘shadow fleet’ vessels that seek to undermine sanctions

    August 14, 2024
  • Wayfair CEO Niraj Shah compares home goods slowdown to global financial crisis of 2008

    August 1, 2024

Editor’s Pick

  • Musk says time commitment to DOGE will ‘drop significantly’ as focus returns to Tesla

    April 23, 2025
  • SafeMoon and Litecoin: Litecoin moves to a new weekly high

    July 17, 2024
  • Speaker Johnson says House will match Trump’s pace as Democrats are left ‘flailing’

    February 9, 2025
  • About us
  • Contacts
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Disclaimer: moneyrisetoday.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

Copyright © 2025 moneyrisetoday.com | All Rights Reserved

Money Rise Today – Investing and Stock News
  • Economy
  • Editor’s Pick
Money Rise Today – Investing and Stock News
  • Investing
  • Stock