FBI fires top official amid Kash Patel’s outrage over reports of agency jet use | FBI
A top FBI official of 27 years was reportedly fired by the bureau after bureau director Kash Patel became enraged by media reports that revealed his girlfriend was traveling using a government jet while singing the national anthem at a wrestling match.
Steven Palmer, who had been with the bureau since 1998, was fired as head of the FBI’s critical incident response group, which was responsible for addressing major security threats as well as overseeing the agency’s fleet of jets. He was the third unit chief to be fired since Patel became the Trump administration’s second FBI director in February.
Bloomberg Law, I broke the storyHe said three unnamed sources expressed surprise at the firing because Patel’s flight schedules were fully public and could be viewed on websites. A day after his performance, Patel himself republished photos His X account shows him with his girlfriend, country singer Alexis Wilkins.
According to Bloomberg, Patel was angered by reports published after the incident that she had used the FBI jet to go on a date with Wilkins. Shortly thereafter, Palmer was told he could resign or be fired immediately.
The firing became official on Friday.
Flight records publicly viewable on Flight Aware for Patel’s aircraft N708JH show the jet touched down at an airport near Penn State on October 25. That evening, Wilkins performed at the Real American Freestyle wrestling event, and flight records show Patel’s FBI plane later flew to Nashville.
Records regarding the movements of jet N708JH were blocked from Flight Aware as of Sunday. A search of the government jet produces a message stating that it is “not available for public pursuit upon request of the owner/operator.”
Patel did not respond to Bloomberg’s report on Palmer’s dismissal. However, spokesman Ben Williamson had previously made a lengthy statement. in x He called criticism of Patel’s jet travel “insincere and stupid” and “malicious whining”.
Williamson noted that the director must pay some compensation for travel under government rules and claimed that Patel had “significantly limited” personal travel compared to her predecessors Chris Wray and James Comey. “He is occasionally allowed personal time to see family, friends or his long-term girlfriend,” the spokesperson said.
Aspect Daily Monster Patel said he was highly critical of Wray’s use of government jets for personal use when Wray was the bureau’s director. In 2023, Patel harshly called Wray the “#GovernmentGangster” and accused him of “throwing away (sic) taxpayer money while evading responsibility for the FBI imploding on his watch.”
Palmer’s dismissal makes him the third head of the FBI’s critical incident response group to be ousted under Patel. Wes Wheeler was fired in March and Brian Driscoll was fired in August.
Driscoll is now suing the Trump administration for wrongful termination, claiming he was targeted for his lack of loyalty to the president.
Patel’s trip on a government jet for date night first seen By Kyle Seraphin, a former FBI agent who has become a thorn in the side of the Trump administration. His podcast harshly criticizes the FBI’s current leadership.
“We’re in the middle of a government shutdown… and this guy is flying off to hang out in Nashville with his girlfriend on our dime?” Seraphin said last podcast.
The government shutdown that Seraphin alluded to had entered its 32nd day.
In a further unpleasant development for him, Patel faces a challenge from a defense attorney in Michigan to the FBI director’s allegations on Friday. five young men He was arrested while planning a Halloween terrorist attack. Amir Makled, a lawyer representing one of the five men, said that after reviewing the case, he was convinced that no such terrorist incident was planned.
Makled told The Associated Press that the FBI director’s claims amounted to “hysteria and fear-mongering.” The five men were between 16 and 20 years old and were U.S. citizens and actors.
“I don’t believe there is anything illegal in any of their activities,” he said.
