Dems' 'delay tactic' to 'malign' Patel and stall FBI confirmation dismissed as 'baseless' by top Senate leader

The caput of the Senate Judiciary Committee slammed Democrats connected the sheet this week for their attempts to docket a 2nd confirmation proceeding for President Donald Trump's FBI manager nominee, Kash Patel, describing the effort Tuesday nighttime arsenic a "delay tactic" designed to stall Patel from taking the reins of the sprawling instrumentality enforcement agency. 

In a missive Tuesday night, Grassley criticized what helium described arsenic the "baseless" effort by Sen. Dick Durbin and different Democrats connected the sheet to propulsion for a 2nd hearing, noting that Patel testified for much than 5 hours earlier the committee and disclosed to the sheet "thousands of pages" of records, arsenic good arsenic astir 150 pages of responses to lawmakers' written questions. 

"No 1 was convinced by the minority’s baseless efforts to mischaracterize and malign Kash Patel," Grassley said. "It’s additionally outrageous to asseverate that a nominee should travel earlier the Senate to reply for authorities actions that occurred prior to their clip astatine an agency."

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Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is seen successful the U.S. Capitol aft legislature luncheons connected Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

"Further hearings connected his information are unnecessary," Grassley concluded.

He said the committee inactive intends to ballot connected Patel's confirmation arsenic FBI manager arsenic aboriginal arsenic adjacent week.  

Grassley's remarks – and his unrelenting enactment for Trump's FBI manager nominee – travel aft the Senate Judiciary Committee's ranking Democrat, Dick Durbin of Illinois, urged Grassley to hold Patel's confirmation ballot Tuesday, citing what helium described arsenic "apparent falsehoods" successful Patel's grounds past week, arsenic good arsenic the "recent removals and reassignments of FBI vocation civilian servants."

The letter, signed by each 10 Democrats connected the panel, urged Grassley to hold Patel's confirmation ballot until Patel agreed to attest for a 2nd clip nether oath astir the caller removals and reassignments of FBI civilian servants; and until DOJ agrees to supply the sheet with measurement 2 of erstwhile peculiar counsel Jack Smith's last study that refers oregon pertains to Patel's grounds oregon actions, among different things.

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Pam Bondi, President Donald Trump's prime to pb the Justice Department arsenic lawyer general, appears earlier the Senate Judiciary Committee. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

"Given the gravity of these matters, which carnivore straight connected Mr. Patel’s integrity, his suitability to pb the nation’s premier instrumentality enforcement agency, and his respect for safeguarding classified information, we inquire that the Chairman docket an further proceeding for Mr. Patel to explicate these matters successful person," the Democrats said.

FBI AGENTS SUE TRUMP DOJ TO BLOCK ANY PUBLIC IDENTIFICATION OF EMPLOYEES WHO WORKED ON JAN. 6 INVESTIGATIONS

Sen. Dick Durbin is simply a Democrat from Illinois and ranking subordinate of the Senate Judiciary Committee. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The missive – and Grassley's swift dismissal of the effort – comes amid 2 caller lawsuits from anonymous FBI agents that were filed separately this week. Both lawsuits sought to artifact immoderate nationalist recognition of FBI employees who were progressive successful the Jan. 6 investigations into the U.S. Capitol riots aft a database of agents progressive and their roles was shared with DOJ enactment Tuesday day successful keeping with an earlier petition from acting U.S. lawman lawyer general, Emil Bove.

Both groups of FBI agents asked the tribunal for exigency injunctive alleviation to artifact the names oregon identities of FBI agents progressive successful the Jan. 6 investigations from being shared, citing concerns that the probe oregon immoderate retaliatory measures carried retired arsenic a effect could person a chilling effect connected the enactment of the FBI oregon spark retaliatory efforts wrong the bureau. 

Lawyers for the Federal Bureau of Investigation Agent’s Association, a voluntary nonrecreational relation representing much than 14,000 progressive and retired FBI peculiar agents, told reporters Tuesday night that they spot the Jan. 6 petition arsenic a "prelude" to imaginable adverse enactment oregon wide layoffs successful the bureau, citing fears that agents sanction could beryllium taxable to threats, harassment oregon targeting either by the nationalist oregon wrong the bureau.

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To date, determination are nary known plans to behaviour sweeping removals oregon instrumentality punitive enactment against the agents involved.

One retired FBI cause besides urged calm, noting to Fox News successful an interrogation that the acting manager and lawman manager of the FBI inactive stay successful place. 

This idiosyncratic besides stressed that the Jan. 6 probe and the FBI unit progressive successful investigating each lawsuit "fully followed Bureau and DOJ guidelines," and that violations of national statutes were "proven beyond a tenable uncertainty successful national courts of law."