Top Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee projected confidence in FBI Director Kash Patel, who’s appearing before the panel, and defended his handling of the Charlie Kirk shooting investigation.
Here’s what they’re saying:
Sen. John Cornyn: “I’ve seen no reason for the armchair quarterbacks to be criticizing his performance. I think it’s been commendable.”
“I mean, it took roughly 33 hours to arrest the killer. And you know, there’s always a certain fog that goes along with emergency situations like this. So I know initially they thought they had their man, but turned out not,” he added.
“I don’t think we demand perfection, or we shouldn’t, of public officials, because nobody can meet that standard, but I think he’s done a good job.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham: “The drama around the investigation, I’m OK with what happened, and we have the man in custody. You know, he’s presumed innocent, but the evidence seems to be pretty overwhelming.”
Graham also said that he wants Patel to speak to lowering the temperature of political rhetoric in the US. “I want people to be assured there will be justice, but I also want people to be assured there won’t be vengeance. That’s reserved for the lord,” he said.
GOP Sen. Josh Hawley: “He (Patel) serves at the pleasure of the President, the President has confidence in him. And you know that’s, that’s good enough for me.”
“The FBI was at the scene of the shooting last week I think within 16 minutes, that’s pretty darn good. But we’ll want to hear a full report on everything that they’re doing, and also, what are they doing to prevent acts of violence like this going forward. I mean, this is really, the violence is out of control. I certainly going to ask him about that.”