Kash Patel Under Fire for Jetting to Winter Olympics and Celebrating with Team USA
FBI Director Kash Patel is in hot water after reportedly utilizing an FBI jet to fly to Italy, where he spent the final days of the Winter Olympics indulging in hockey and celebrating Team USA’s gold medal triumph over Canada on Sunday.
Patel, a lifelong hockey enthusiast, was seen at the U.S. men’s semifinal against Slovakia and later at the championship game, where he celebrated alongside Team USA center Dylan Larkin in the locker room after America’s thrilling overtime victory.
“Congratulations Team USA,” Patel appeared to exclaim while flashing a shaka sign during Larkin’s post-game Instagram Live session, as captured in a clip shared by a prominent journalist.
In another video, Patel is seen chugging a beer before raising his hands in jubilation and pounding a table in excitement. Team USA’s Matthew Tkachuk then drapes his medal around Patel’s neck, leading him into a sing-along of Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue.”
Further footage shows Patel sipping another beer while overhearing President Trump on a phone call suggesting that he could arrange for the team to attend his State of the Union address and visit the White House. “I got it, boss, I got it,” Patel slurred back. “I’m on it, I’m fucking on it.”
On social media, he later celebrated Team USA’s golden achievement, sharing images from the post-game festivities, including one where he smiles alongside coach Mike Sullivan.
This revelry coincided with a serious incident where an armed man was shot after breaching the secure perimeter around Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. In response to media scrutiny regarding his antics, Patel addressed the “very concerned media” about the clips.
“Yes, I love America and was extremely humbled when my friends, the newly minted Gold Medal winners on Team USA, invited me into the locker room to celebrate this historic moment with the boys—Greatest country on earth and greatest sport on earth,” he stated.
Critics quickly took to social media to condemn Patel’s trip, recalling his past criticisms of former FBI Director Chris Wray for using a government-funded jet for personal vacations. Some users highlighted the Justice Department's slow release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
“Are the Epstein files there?” questioned one user. Another remarked on Patel’s Instagram Live selfie with Larkin, stating, “Meanwhile, solving no sex crimes mind you.”
“Why is Kash Patel in the locker room?” asked another user. “They don’t even try to hide their corruption and self-enrichment anymore. This guy is a podcasting grifter. He should not be anywhere near public service.”
Reports indicate that Patel flew to the Milan Cortina Games on an FBI Gulfstream jet, with estimates suggesting that taxpayers may have footed a bill as high as $75,000 for his trip.
An FBI spokesperson confirmed the trip but insisted it was not personal, claiming it had been planned months in advance for meetings and briefings with Italian officials related to government duties.
Williamson defended the trip by asserting that the FBI plays a significant role in security for both the Olympics and the upcoming World Cup set to take place in the U.S. this summer. “So we have a U.S. consulate briefing on Olympic security and current FBI posture, as well as thanking FBI personnel on the ground,” he explained.
Patel has faced criticism before for using an FBI jet to attend a wrestling event in Pennsylvania where his girlfriend, country singer Alexis Wilkins, was performing. He justified that trip by stating he is not permitted to fly commercially and praised his partner as “a rock-solid conservative and a country music sensation who has done more for this nation than most will in ten lifetimes.”
Notably, Patel is the first known active FBI director to make an Olympic-related trip since Robert Mueller did so in 2003, although Mueller's trip occurred several months before the 2004 Athens Games.
