Citing a series of recent media reports, the Democrat committee alleged that Patel has used the FBI’s Gulfstream passenger jet for a series of recent flights for a “date night” in Tennessee and an outing with friends in Texas.
Democrats on the panel have asked Patel to answer about travel records, passenger information and any communications with passengers about recent flights.
Maryland Democrat Representative Jamie Raskin, who is the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, and another member of the committee, California Democratic Representative Sidney Kamlager-Dove, wrote to the FBI asking about Patel’s October 25 flight to Pennsylvania.
“You went there because your girlfriend was performing at a wrestling match on the campus of Pennsylvania State University,” the Democrats wrote in the letter. “After attending his performance, you used the government jet to fly from his home to Nashville the next day. Your ‘date night’ had no apparent connection to your official duties.”
The inquiry also raised questions about a trip to Texas that was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
“Later that weekend, you flew on an FBI jet to San Angelo, Texas, for four days, where Republican Party mega-donor Bubba Saulsbury hosted you at Boondoggle Ranch — ‘a beautiful hunting retreat’ that bills itself as the ideal place not to ‘waste money or time on unnecessary or questionable projects,'” Raskin and Kamlager-Dove wrote.
The FBI did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Judiciary Committee Democrats said that travel on Patel’s flights was revealed by public flight logs and social media posts by Patel’s girlfriend.
The Democrats’ letter demands Patel’s travel records from the FBI by December 15. But as members of the panel’s minority party, Raskin and Kamlager-Dov do not have the power of a congressional subpoena to require them to turn over the records — they can only request them. Raskin and Camlager-Dover wrote, “These planes do not belong to you. They are the property of the US Government and are paid for by the American people.”
In May, CBS News reported on questions surrounding Patel’s use of FBI planeThat includes a formal request from Senate Democrats for a Government Accountability Office review of Patel’s visit.
Executive branch policy requires FBI directors to use government aircraft for air travel, whether official or personal. This allows them to maintain access to secure communications wherever they travel and to relocate quickly in case of an emergency. They will have to reimburse the government for private flights at coach fare rates. Directors are allowed to take family or friends on private trips, but the cost of their trips must also be reimbursed by the government.
CBS News reporting in May found that Patel appeared to have used the FBI’s Gulfstream 5 jet to travel between Las Vegas, where he has a home, and Nashville, where Patel’s girlfriend, a country singer, lives. Sources familiar with Patel’s travel confirmed to CBS News that the director was on the plane for several trips captured by public flight trackers, including a weekend trip to Las Vegas on March 7 and a weekend trip to Nashville on March 24.
<a href=