Kash Patel faces scrutiny over snorkeling outing at USS Arizona memorial in Hawaii | Hawaii

FBI director Kash Patel faces new scrutiny after reports that he participated in a snorkeling expedition around the USS Arizona during a trip to Hawaii last summer.

The trip was first reported this week by the Associated Press, which obtained government emails. explaining “VIP snorkeling” tour around USS Arizona – area where more than one remains are found 1,000 US navy sailors and sailors Died at Pearl Harbor in 1941.

The trip was coordinated by the military and took place during a two-day stopover in Hawaii in August during Patel’s return to the United States from official visits to Australia and New Zealand, according to the AP. Patel also had stopped Earlier in the trip, he traveled to Hawaii and visited the FBI’s Honolulu field office.

on friday, New York Times also reported that nine other people joined Patel on the tour, and that the Navy confirmed to the Times that the FBI director had been swimming near the grave for 30 minutes.

When asked for comment, the FBI referred the Guardian to a statement issued earlier this week in response to the AP’s initial report. blamed the exit “Trying to make up a party or holiday invitation from the Commander of Indo Pacom to the military base, which is very stupid.”

The spokesman added that the Department of Defense “routinely has these conversations with interagency partners” and said that when Patel was chief of staff at the Defense Department in Trump’s first administration, he “offered the same activity to many visiting partners.”

“This is not a party, but a historic tour honoring the heroes who died aboard the USS Arizona,” the spokesperson added.

The FBI also told the AP that senior regional commanders hosted Patel at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam “as they typically do for U.S. government officials on official trips.”

The bureau added that the visit to Pearl Harbor “was part of the Director’s public national security discussions last August with counterparts in New Zealand, Australia, our Honolulu Field Office, and the War Department.”

The FBI also said in its statement: Times Patel was sent to Pearl Harbor by US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel J Paparo Jr. It was learned that he was invited by.

Navy and defense ministry officials said: Times VIP “tours” were reportedly common near the USS Arizona, but they declined to say how often they took people snorkeling. The Navy spokesman also reportedly refused to identify the nine people who joined Patel on the trip.

Neither the navy nor the National Park Service immediately responded to the Guardian’s requests for comment on how often people were allowed to swim around the USS Arizona.

according to access pointMarine archaeologists and National Park Service teams occasionally dive at the monument to monitor the condition of the wreck, and other dives have been conducted among the remains of surviving USS Arizona crew members.

The publication also reported that, at least since the Obama administration, a limited number of military and government officials associated with the monument’s management have been allowed to swim in the area. A former government diver told the press that past participants have included navy admirals, defense ministers and interior ministers, and that the purpose of the tours was to teach them about the monument and its operations.

Over the years, former FBI managers have visited Pearl Harbor on official business, but none of them are known to have snorkeled at the memorial, dating back to at least 1993, according to the AP.

One Interview on CNN This week, former FBI director James Comey was asked about reports of Patel’s snorkeling trip.

“Did you say snorkel?” asked Comey. “I visited the Pearl Harbor memorial on a Navy boat with the admiral in charge of Pacific command, I’ve never been on the water, so I don’t know, I think when you’re FBI director you have a responsibility to represent not just yourself but 38,000 people and an idea, an American idea that’s respected around the world, and that’s a burden, you’re always on duty, you’re always being watched, and I always knew that.”

Reports about Patel’s trip to Hawaii come as Patel has come under scrutiny for mixing holiday travel with leisure travel in recent months. official business.