Washington: Hours after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, FBI Director Kash Patel declared online that “the subject” in the killing was in custody. The shooter was not. The two men who had been detained were quickly released. Utah officials acknowledged that the gunman remained at large.The false assurance was more than a slip. It spotlighted the high-stakes uncertainty surrounding Patel’s leadership of the bureau when its credibility is under extraordinary pressure, as is his own.Patel now approaches congressional oversight hearings this week facing not just questions about that investigation but broader doubts about whether he can stabilise a federal law enforcement agency fragmented by political fights and internal upheaval.Democrats are poised to press Patel on a purge of senior executives that has prompted a lawsuit, his pursuit of President Donald Trump’s grievances long after the Russia investigation ended, and a realignment of resources that has prioritised the fight against immigration and street crime.The hearings will offer Patel his most consequential stage yet, and perhaps the clearest test of whether he can convince the country that the FBI, under his watch, can avoid compounding its mistakes in a time of political violence. “Because of the skepticism that some members of the Senate have had and still have, it’s extremely important that he perform very well at these oversight hearings,” Gregory Brower, the FBI’s former top congressional affairs official, said. The FBI declined to comment on Patel’s coming testimony. Kirk’s killing was always going to be a closely scrutinised investigation because of Kirk’s friendships with Trump and Patel and other administration figures and allies.
