GOP’s Blackburn: Schiff, Other Dems Fear Kash Patel As FBI Director
Tennessee Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn stated in an interview with Fox News that Democrats, including California Senator Adam Schiff, "fear" Kash Patel taking charge of the FBI because he is aware of their involvement in sustaining the "Russian collusion" narrative during former President Donald Trump’s first term.
“I think, too, they are very fearful of Kash Patel because Kash Patel knows what Adam Schiff and some of the others did with Russia collusion, and they know that he — knows the dirt on them, if you will, and I think they’re fearful of what he’s going to do and what he’s going to reveal and what he’s going to make known to the American people,” Blackburn told guest host Charlie Hurt on “Fox & Friends” Sunday.
Hurt responded, “And they recognize that one thing Kash Patel is very devoted to is bringing transparency to what’s going on in Washington,” a statement that Blackburn agreed with.
Hurt then asked, “So to what degree with RFK Jr.. like Tulsi Gabbard do you think Democrats might hold it against them?” He continued, “Because I think you’re right. I think that one of the things that really, really enraging them is that these are former Democrats, and they feel like they have to — I think it just drives them crazy and makes them so mad that these are Democrats who found a way to work on common sense solutions with President Trump.”
Blackburn replied, “You’re exactly right about that. It does make them angry, and so they’re wanting to punish them and the way they can punish them is to withhold their vote or to slow down their nomination. RFK Jr.. is going to do a great job at HHS and I tell you one thing.
“He is going to help us find these 300,000 children. I’ve been trying to find these kids since it was 75,000, and the Biden Administration has never responded to where these children are. RFK is going to get in there. He’s going to rework CMS with Dr. [Mehmet] Oz. He is going to work with [Dr.] Marty Makary to straighten out the FDA. He’s going to work with Dr. [Jay] Bhattacharyaat NIH,” Blackburn said.
“You’re going to see transparency. People want to know what really happened with COVID. I think we’re going to be able to find out what happened,” she added.
According to the Consortium of Social Science Associations, Bhattacharya, a professor of health policy at Stanford University, was a critic of the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and was a key plaintiff in the Supreme Court case Murthy v. Missouri, arguing that he was "unfairly censored" by the government on social media for his views.
“While the case gained national attention, it was ultimately unsuccessful in a 6-3 ruling,” the organization further noted.
Regarding his NIH nominee, Trump stated, “Dr. Bhattacharya will work in cooperation with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to direct the Nation’s Medical Research, and to make important discoveries that will improve Health, and save lives.”
Patel, a former federal prosecutor, was appointed as senior counsel on counterterrorism for the House Select Committee on Intelligence in 2017. By 2019, he had taken on the role of senior director at the Counterterrorism Directorate of the U.S. National Security Council.
Previously, he served as a senior aide to then-Representative Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) when Nunes was chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. In this capacity, Patel played a critical role in aiding Republican-led investigations into Trump and allegations surrounding Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Additionally, Patel was instrumental in drafting the 2018 Nunes memo, which accused the FBI of misconduct regarding its surveillance warrant application for a Trump 2016 campaign aide.