Stepping to the microphone at a news conference Friday morning in Utah, FBI Director Kash Patel wasted no time explaining what led to the capture of a suspect in the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
“This is what happens when you let good cops be cops,” Patel said.
Over the next six minutes, Patel lauded the work of the FBI in leading the investigation into Wednesday’s assassination and its coordination with state and local law enforcement — while also twice saying the decision to release photos and videos to the public, which led to the arrest of suspect Tyler Robinson on Thursday evening, were made at his direction.
But Patel’s upbeat tone contrasted with frustration and anger, both inside and outside the FBI, over his handling of the most high-profile moment of his tenure so far. Some FBI employees told CNN they found it galling for Patel to claim personal credit for the most successful parts of the investigation.
After all, it was Patel who had posted on Wednesday that a “subject” was in custody, a claim he had to walk back less than two hours later. Patel’s style also struck the FBI employees as not in keeping with how previous FBI directors handled similar situations, normally trying to credit employees instead of themselves.
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