Kash Patel Threatens Legal Action Against Former White House Colleague For MSNBC Comments About Him
A former homeland security and counterterrorism adviser to Mike Pence said Kash Patel, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, has threatened legal action against her.
Patel demanded on Wednesday that his former colleague in the White House, Olivia Troye, “publicly retract defamatory statements” by way of a public statement after she called him a “delusional liar” on MSNBC on Monday.
“Kash Patel is a delusional liar. Let me just be very clear about that. And he would lie about intelligence. He would lie about making things up on operations,” Troye said, adding that he put lives at risk during a Navy SEAL mission in Nigeria. “And I know this because at some point I realized that I needed to double-check Kash’s work to make sure that I wasn’t misinforming Mike Pence by relying on his word.” (Patel and Troye both worked in Trump’s first administration.)
“This is a guy who openly has contempt for people in national security, for people, especially at DOJ and the FBI,” Troye continued, likely pointing to his public hit list in his book “Government Gangsters.” “And so I think, you know, there is a little bit of fear here from people, where they know that someone like Kash Patel is fully capable of just doing partisan investigations, whatever it takes.”
She concluded by saying that it would be “insane” if Patel led the FBI.
In his letter, Patel denies the claims made by Troye, calling them “complete fabrication.” The letter also demands that Troye keep all correspondence relating to Patel.
Patel, a known conspiracy theorist, previously said he would “come after” the media.
“This aligns with his threats against the media & political opponents, revealing how he might conduct himself if confirmed in the role. I stand by my statements—my priority remains the safety & security of the American people,” Troye wrote in a post online announcing Patel’s letter. “I am not the only one who has expressed concerns about him. So why me?...And so it begins. I always knew I was at the top of their list.”
Today, Kash Patel sent a letter to my counsel @MarkSZaidEsq- threatening legal action & demanding that I retract my comments on MSNBC about his unfitness to serve as FBI Director. This aligns with his threats against the media & political opponents, revealing how he might conduct… pic.twitter.com/BJU90haUhO
— Olivia of Troye (@OliviaTroye) December 4, 2024
Since Trump’s recent announcement of Patel for FBI Director, some critics have lambasted his fitness for the role (similar to Trump’s other controversial picks for his second administration). Current FBI Director Chris Wray is only seven years into his 10-year term, which means he would have to resign or be fired before Patel is able to be confirmed.
In Trump ally Steve Bannon’s podcast in 2023, Patel said: “We’re going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections...Whether it’s criminally or civilly, we’ll figure that out.”
However, a Trump spokesperson later walked the comment back, according to NBC News.
“Kash Patel is going to deliver on President Trump’s mandate to restore integrity to the FBI and return the agency to its core mission of protecting America,” spokesperson Alex Pfeiffer reportedly said in a statement. “Kash is committed to safeguarding Americans’ First Amendment rights, unlike Joe Biden who weaponized the DOJ to target journalists.” (There is no evidence that Biden has done so.)