The Department of Justice inspector general should investigate FBI Director Kash Patel for potentially violating federal travel rules and the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Executive Branch Employees, according to a complaint filed today by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington with the inspector general’s office. Patel, a huge hockey fan, attended the medal round of the Milan Olympics men’s hockey competition and was photographed drinking and partying with Team USA after their win, following claims by his office’s spokesperson that the trip to Italy was official and meant to coordinate with Italian law enforcement.
Director Patel reportedly used a government jet to fly to Milan where he then attended the final round of the Olympics hockey competition, while the FBI gave conflicting accounts related to the purpose, planning and details of the trip. An FBI spokesperson originally said that the trip was “not a personal trip” and that it “was planned months ago” to allow Patel to participate in meetings with his Italian law enforcement counterparts. However, after the NHL announced its players would be allowed to compete in the Olympics back in July, Patel tweeted on his personal X account, “NHL agreed to let the boys play in the next Olympics this coming winter-first time in over a decade… Team USA, I’ll see you there” followed by American flag and hockey stick and puck emojis.
“Public service is a public trust and the FBI has a singular mission to protect our national security. It’s imperative that the FBI and its leaders adhere to the highest standards of professional conduct including that government resources meant to ensure national security not be abused to avoid financial responsibility for personal desires,” CREW President Donald K. Sherman said. “The DOJ inspector general must thoroughly investigate Director Patel’s trip to Milan.”
Much of Patel’s personal social media is devoted to his love of hockey. His personal interest in hockey has already crossed over to his role as FBI director several times during his short tenure, having used the FBI’s aircraft to attend other hockey games multiple times before. He also reportedly used government aircraft to travel to a college wrestling event where his girlfriend was singing and possibly used the jet to fly her back home after.
“Director Patel has a history of questionable use of FBI resources, and his appearance at the Olympics raises new questions about his integrity in using his position for his personal gain,” Sherman said. “These are clearly questions that need to be answered by an inspector general investigation.”
As recently as last year, the DOJ IG investigated ethics allegations related to FBI travel and determined that a former FBI Assistant Director had “wasted taxpayer funds and used their public office for their own private gain, in violation of federal ethics regulations and FBI policy” when they engaged in official travel for the purpose of fulfilling “the Assistant Director’s personal ‘bucket list.’” The official’s effort to justify the travel as official by bookending personal interests with official events also violated agency travel policy.
