Kash Patel Reportedly Took ‘VIP Snorkel’ Around Pearl Harbor—Latest Report Of Mixing Leisure And Official Duties
Topline
FBI Director Kash Patel snorkeled round Pearl Harbor throughout a cease in Hawaii after visiting New Zealand on official enterprise, based on the Associated Press—a privilege usually reserved for dignitaries and navy and authorities officers who handle the location—the newest reported incident of Patel mixing official enterprise and leisure.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel testifies throughout a Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies listening to within the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on May 12, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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Key Facts
Patel participated within the “VIP snorkel” across the USS Arizona final summer season on his means again from official visits in New Zealand and Australia then stayed in Hawaii for 2 days, based on authorities emails and flight monitoring knowledge for the FBI jet obtained by the Associated Press.
He visited the Honolulu subject workplace on his strategy to these nations, based on the AP.
The FBI didn’t disclose Patel’s second cease in Hawaii in a news release about his go to on the time, and other than the snorkeling tour, it is unclear what he was doing there.
The report comes amid heightened scrutiny of Patel’s mixing of private leisure with official enterprise, allegations of extreme alcohol consumption, use of an FBI jet for private journeys and studies of erratic conduct.
Navy admirals and secretaries of protection and inside are amongst those that have snorkeled at Pearl Harbor, an unnamed former authorities diver informed the AP, noting the excursions are instructional in nature.
No FBI director since at the least 1993 has snorkeled on the memorial, the previous authorities diver and different unnamed sources informed the AP.
Tangent
Navy spokesperson Capt. Jodie Cornell confirmed Patel’s tour, however stated the Navy could not decide who initiated it and declined to say how incessantly the snorkels happen.
Key Background
Patel has confronted an onslaught of allegations throughout his tenure of utilizing his official capability as FBI director for self-promotional and social functions, together with taking an FBI jet to go to his girlfriend and attend sporting occasions. Patel has been accused of extreme ingesting that has interfered along with his job efficiency, together with a number of incidents when his safety element has struggled to wake him up after an evening of ingesting, The Atlantic reported lately. President Donald Trump has defended Patel publicly, however was reportedly annoyed by his conduct on the Olympics, when he took an FBI jet to Milan and was seen in a viral video chugging beer with the USA males’s hockey workforce within the locker room. Patel has denied the allegations of problematic ingesting habits and suffered The Atlantic over the article.
Chief Critic
Patel clashed with Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., throughout a Senate listening to on Tuesday over the ingesting allegations towards him. Van Hollen challenged Patel to take an alcohol use dysfunction take a look at if Van Hollen additionally took one. Van Hollen posted his outcomes to social media Wednesday, however Patel has not stated publicly whether or not he accomplished the self-survey.
Further Reading
Patel Still Hasn’t Released Alcohol Test After Promising He’d Take One—White House Defends Him (Forbes)
FBI Says Kash Patel Followed ‘Ethical Guidelines’ With Alleged Personalized Bourbon Gifts (Forbes)
Kash Patel Sues The Atlantic For $250M Over Drinking, Absentee Allegations (Forbes)
