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In addition to what was coming out of the White House over the weekend, there was also some reporting from a few blocks down the street, namely FBI headquarters at 935 Pennsylvania Ave. It was not the kind of news that the administration likes, however.
In short, NBC News had a report that FBI Director Kash Patel—who, remember, is an ideologue and a political appointee, and who did not diligently work his way up the ranks—is cutting corners at his still-new job. The sources NBC talked to—off the record, naturally—say that the 8:30 a.m. "daily" briefing of pressing issues and concerns, drawn from law-enforcement sources across the nation, now happens only twice a week because Patel has trouble getting to work on time each day. Further, the usual Wednesday afternoon Zoom meeting, in which the Director is supposed to communicate his priorities to law-enforcement leadership across the nation, has been ended.
Reportedly, these changes were made because, in addition to not making it into the office in time, Patel has some of the same shortcomings as his boss. He is easily bored and, as is consistent with his path to his high office, is uninterested in, and not knowledgeable about, the nitty-gritty of law enforcement. Even with the two-days-a-week schedule, the folks presenting the briefings reportedly have trouble capturing Patel's attention, and have resorted to the same tricks used with Trump, like including lots of pictures.
There are some parts of the job Patel does enjoy. By law, the director travels on government planes, and he's made frequent use of that perk, flying at least half-a-dozen times to Nashville, Las Vegas and New York City for various social and leisure activities. He's also a big sports fan, and has been pictured sitting in prime seats at various sporting events, including UFC matches and hockey playoff games.
As is always the case when an outlet runs a piece like this (see below for more), Patel and his allies pushed back at every bit of NBC's reporting, asserting that the story is a "hit piece" and that Patel simply prefers different ways of keeping up with law-enforcement intel and law-enforcement officers, and that he might travel a lot, but he always does business when he reaches his destinations. It's worth keeping in mind that the folks who serve as sources for such a piece may well have axes to grind, given that Patel is an outsider. At the same time, it is unlikely that the off-the-record claims are 100% false. The truth probably lies somewhere between Patel's version of events and NBC's version, though we'd guess that NBC's version is closer to the truth than Patel's is. (Z)