WASHINGTON — Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are asking for a second go at probing President Donald Trump’s choice to head the FBI, Kash Patel, as the panel’s Republican chairman pledges to charge ahead with a vote on his nomination as soon as next week. 

What You Need To Know

  • Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are asking for a second go at probing President Donald Trump’s choice to head the FBI, Kash Patel, as the panel’s Republican chairman pledges to charge ahead with a vote on his nomination as soon as next week
  • In a letter sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, on Tuesday, ten Democratic senators on the panel requested Patel be brought back for another confirmation hearing, citing the need to ask him about what they claim were “apparent falsehoods” he made in his first go in front of the panel; question him over reports about the firings of FBI employees involved in the federal investigations against Trump; and allow them time to request and assess information on him that was included in a report on the classified documents case against the president
  • Grassley shot back at the request in a statement on Tuesday evening, referring to the need for another hearing “unnecessary,” pointing to his testimony in front of the committee last week and pledging “not fall for Democrats’ delay tactics"

In a letter sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, on Tuesday, ten Democratic senators on the panel requested Patel be brought back for another confirmation hearing, citing the need to ask him about what they claim were “apparent falsehoods” he made in his first go in front of the panel; question him over reports about the firings of FBI employees involved in the federal investigations against Trump; and allow them time to request and assess information on him that was included in a report on the classified documents case against the president. 

“Given the gravity of these matters, which bear directly on Mr. Patel’s integrity, his suitability to lead the nation’s premier law enforcement agency, and his regard forsafeguarding classified information, we ask that the Chairman schedule an additional hearing for Mr. Patel to explain these matters in person," Durbin wrote.

Grassley shot back at the request in a statement Tuesday evening, referring to the need for another hearing “unnecessary,” pointing to his testimony in front of the committee last week and pledging to “not fall for Democrats’ delay tactics.”

“Kash Patel testified before the Committee for more than five hours, disclosed thousands of pages of records and media appearances, and provided 147 pages of responses to written questions,” the panel’s GOP chairman wrote, adding “I intend to hold a final committee vote on Patel’s nomination as soon as next week.”

In addition to the hearing, the Democrats asked their Republican counterparts on the panel to “work with us” in requesting any parts of former special counsel Jack Smith’s report on his investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents that involve Patel but are under shield as others in the case still faced potential legal action. 

The Democrats argued that “no bar stands in the way” of releasing the full report now that the Trump administration has moved to drop the cases against his onetime co-defendants. They emphasized they would like to pursue the request for materials and the review if obtained on a “bipartisan basis.” 

Meanwhile, the “falsehoods” Democrats say Patel made during his hearing last week centered on his involvement in a recording of the so-called “J6 choir” and knowledge about internet personality Stewart Peters.