FBI says Kash Patel breaks no rules when he takes agency jets to meet his girlfriend

The FBI responded to the allegation that director Kash Patel flew on a $60M FBI jet to attend his girlfriend Alexis Wilkins' performance in Pennsylvania, and said he broke no rules while he did that. The allegation came from a former FBI agent-turned-podcaster Kyle Seraphin who commented about Patel flying around the country during the ongoing government shutdown.

“We’re in the middle of government shutdown where they’re not even gonna pay all of the employees that work for the agency that this guy heads,” Seraphin said. “And this guy is jetting off to hang out with his girlfriend in Nashville on our dime?”This is not the first time that Kash Patel's use of FBI jets for personal reasons came under fire. This time, the FBI issued a detailed statement comparing Kash Patel's travels with his predecessors, like Chris Wray and James Comey.

Kash Patel pays reimbursement in advance: FBI

The FBI director is not allowed to travel in commercial planes and they are only supposed to travel in government planes. Following the established rules, Director Patel pays a reimbursement in advance, Ben Williamson, assistant director for public affairs at FBI, said. Williamson detailed the steps Kash Patel personally takes to minimize spending. When Patel flies, he chooses to take a government airfield instead of airport like DCA (Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport) as the government option is 2.5X cheaper.

Williamson said Chris Wray, James Comey, for example, never did that and they mostly used DCA. "Kash himself has significantly limited personal travel - but he’s allowed to take personal time on occasion to see family, friends or his longtime girlfriend. He doesn’t do it often. He works far more full weekends than he does otherwise. And maybe most importantly - ask anyone who works for him, he’s on duty 24/7 regardless," the statement said.