FBI Director Kash Patel testified on Tuesday at a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing, where he defended a change to FBI hiring rules under which applicants who have engaged in bestiality are no longer automatically disqualified, saying the change was intended to let victims of sex trafficking be considered for employment. Sens. John Kennedy, R-La., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., questioned Patel about the policy at the hearing, which NBC Connecticut reported was Patel's first appearance before the Senate panel with principal oversight jurisdiction over the bureau since last September. Patel said the change was recommended by subordinates who showed him cases of people who had been forced into such conduct and had applied to the FBI.
FBI director defends hiring policy change on bestiality at Senate oversight hearing
FBI Director Kash Patel testified on Tuesday at a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing, where he defended a change to FBI hiring rules under which applicants who have engaged in bestiality are no longer automatically disqualified, saying the change was intended to let victims of sex trafficking be considered for employment. Sens. John Kennedy, R-La., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., questioned Patel about the policy at the hearing, which NBC Connecticut reported was Patel's first appearance before the Senate panel with principal oversight jurisdiction over the bureau since last September. Patel said the change was recommended by subordinates who showed him cases of people who had been forced into such conduct and had applied to the FBI.
According to NBC Connecticut, the FBI quietly issued guidance in the spring lifting a categorical hiring ban on applicants who had previously engaged in prostitution, saying it would instead consider the context of the behavior in at least some cases, and made a similar change regarding bestiality. The Guardian reported the rule change was first reported by CBS News in August and allows the FBI to consider candidates who hired a sex worker under specific circumstances, a person who stole from an employer under certain circumstances, and a person who engaged in bestiality or animal cruelty, so long as the incident took place before they were 18 years old.
Patel told the committee that before the shift, FBI policy covering prostitution, trafficking and bestiality automatically disqualified anyone who had participated 'on either side' of those acts. He said the change was not a lowering of employment standards, that the bureau 'did not want to punish victims of bestiality, victims who were trafficked,' and that he had 'eliminated the bureaucracy' that prevented such applicants from serving or at least being considered. Under questioning, he said a person who voluntarily had sex with an animal cannot be an FBI agent and 'ought to be in jail'; asked whether they were, Patel said, 'They all are.'
Kennedy pressed Patel on the rationale, saying the agency was 'having a tough time attracting agents' and asking, 'Why would you even get into bestiality?' and whether 'Joe,' who participated as a human rather than an animal, ought to be disqualified. Patel replied that a voluntary act would warrant disqualification but that traffickers force people into 'degrading acts of all kinds.' Kennedy also asked whether the previous policy 'disqualified the animal,' to which Patel responded that the bureau's canines would not be disqualified. According to The Guardian, Kennedy told Patel the change 'really hurt' the FBI's reputation, and said of whoever recommended it: 'What planet did you parachute in from?'
Durbin asked Patel whether applicants who had engaged in bestiality were qualified candidates the FBI was losing. Patel responded that such applicants 'were victims of bestiality because they were forced to do so.' The Guardian reported that Durbin refuted that framing, telling Patel: 'You dropped automatic disqualification for applicants who have been engaged in bestiality, not victims of bestiality – applicants who have engaged.' According to The Guardian, Democrats sent Patel a letter on Monday requesting more information about the rule change and the applicants in those categories.
NBC Connecticut reported that Durbin said in his opening statement, 'Mr. Patel is the least qualified and most partisan FBI director in our nation's history,' and accused him of using the bureau's law enforcement powers for retribution against Trump's political opponents and of pursuing the president's grievances, including claims about the 2020 election that the outlet described as false. The same source reported that Democrats focused on firings of agents who took part in investigations of President Donald Trump, bureau efforts to investigate Trump's perceived political adversaries, and Patel's travel schedule combining private leisure with professional duties, and that Durbin called for Patel's replacement in April after an Atlantic magazine article raising allegations of excessive drinking. NBC News reported that the hearing included Democratic questioning of Patel's leadership and his lawsuit against an Atlantic reporter.
According to The Guardian, an FBI spokesperson said in a statement that the bureau was 'not relaxing hiring standards' and that the change allows it to consider 'the whole of person' in certain circumstances, adding that applicants who engaged in criminal sexual acts are not eligible. The spokesperson said the bureau had 'a number of applicants in previous years who suffered sexual abuse in their past, causing questions about prostitution, bestiality or other similar issues to affect their background check process through zero fault of their own.' NBC Connecticut reported that Patel filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit over the Atlantic article, calling it false and a 'malicious hit piece,' and that The Atlantic said it stood by its reporting and would vigorously defend against the 'meritless lawsuit.'
NBC News reported that Patel was mostly praised by Republicans in the room, and NBC Connecticut reported that the Republican-led panel tried to keep the focus on Patel's efforts to combat violent crime, counter drug trafficking and pursue the Trump administration's agenda. PBS NewsHour reported the hearing concerned the nation's lead law enforcement agency, which has recently touted a drop in crime nationwide. NBC Connecticut also described tense exchanges involving Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., whom Patel called an 'utter disgrace' and a 'coward,' and reported Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., were involved in heated arguments at Senate hearings.
Where sources differ
- The timing and description of the rule change differ: NBC Connecticut reports the FBI quietly issued guidance 'this past spring' lifting the categorical ban on applicants who had engaged in prostitution, with a similar change for bestiality, while The Guardian reports the change was 'first reported by CBS News in August' and describes conditions including that the incident occurred before the applicant was 18.
- Patel characterises the affected applicants as victims forced into the conduct; Durbin, as reported by The Guardian, disputes this, saying the change covers 'applicants who have been engaged in bestiality, not victims of bestiality.'
- How many FBI applicants have been affected by the change: The Guardian reports it is unclear and that the FBI did not respond to a question about data supporting Patel's assertion.
- The identity and rationale of the FBI personnel who recommended the policy change are not established; their reasoning is conveyed only through Patel's account.
- The specific contents of the Democrats' letter sent Monday are not described beyond a request for more information about the rule change and affected applicants.
- The conditions reported by The Guardian — that the change involves prostitution, theft from an employer and bestiality or animal cruelty where the incident occurred before age 18 — are not corroborated by the other sources, and no source states whether the age limit applies across all categories.
- No source establishes the number of applicants cited in the cases Patel said were shown to him, or independently verifies that individuals who voluntarily engaged in bestiality are incarcerated, as Patel stated.
- None of the sources specifies whether the exchanges involving Sens. Schiff, Van Hollen and Booker described by NBC Connecticut occurred at the same Tuesday hearing or at other hearings.
- No source reports a response from the individuals or victims the policy is said to cover, and no court ruling or outcome of Patel's defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic is reported.
- NBC News — original — by Raquel Coronell Uribe
- PBS NewsHour — by Maria Ramirez Uribe
- NBC Connecticut — by Eric Tucker | The Associated Press
- The Guardian US — by Ariana Baio