The Legal Defense Fund (LDF) today condemned the nomination of Kash Patel to serve as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). LDF President and Director-Counsel Janai Nelson issued the following statement:
“Beyond woefully lacking the qualifications to be the Director of the FBI, Kash Patel is an alarming choice to lead the nation’s principal federal law enforcement agency. In an interview last year with Steve Bannon, another longtime loyalist of Mr. Trump’s, Mr. Patel threatened to ‘go out and find the conspirators, not just in government but in the media,’ who Patel falsely stated ‘helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections,’ and ‘prosecute them.’ Mr. Patel’s ongoing dissemination of disinformation and overt threats against our free press and against perceived political opponents of Mr. Trump’s—premised on false conspiracy theories about the 2020 election—are beyond the pale. It would make a mockery of the rule of law for him to become one of the nation’s chief law enforcement officers. No Senator who has taken an oath to defend the United States Constitution can in good conscience support Mr. Patel’s nomination.
“Mr. Patel’s unfettered fealty to the President-elect and agenda of vengeance are particularly concerning because the FBI has a long and sordid history of infringing upon the constitutional rights of countless individuals, including Black civil rights leaders and activists. The FBI Director must therefore be vigilant in ensuring that the agency acts neutrally and with the utmost respect for the Constitution. Nothing in Mr. Patel’s profile indicates an ability to be a fair and ethical steward of the vast and penetrating resources of the FBI. To the contrary, his statement and record suggest that he is wholly unfit for this nomination.
“It is also alarming that President-elect Trump is seeking to dismiss current FBI Director Christopher Wray, who President-elect Trump nominated and the Senate confirmed in 2017, nearly two years before the end of Mr. Wray’s tenure. FBI Directors are given ten-year terms for a reason – to insulate them from politics and prevent political abuses of power. By defying this longstanding practice, President-elect Trump is compromising the Justice Department’s ability to remain free from political influence. Each of these reasons alone should set off alarm bells for those who care about the fair and impartial enforcement of the law. Taken together, they render Mr. Patel wholly disqualified for the post for which he has been nominated.”
###
Legal Defense Fund (LDF) – Founded in 1940, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is the nation’s first civil rights law organization. LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multi-disciplinary and collaborative hub within LDF that launches targeted campaigns and undertakes innovative research to shape the civil rights narrative. In media attributions, please refer to us as the Legal Defense Fund or LDF. Please note that LDF has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957—although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights.
