Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) took a brief moment during Thursday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to throw a little shade at his colleague, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), over the latter’s claims that Kash Patel was a “conspiracy theorist.”
Kennedy addressed the comments to Patel, who was testifying before the committee as part of the Senate’s “advise and consent” process since being named by President Donald Trump to take over leadership of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
WATCH:
🚨KASH PATEL A CONSPIRACY THEORIST?
Here's the epic moment when @JohnKennedyLA mocked Sen. Durbin for calling @Kash_Patel a conspiracy theorist.
"Sounds to me like we need to get some new conspiracy theories because all the old ones turned out to be true," @SenJohnKennedy said.… pic.twitter.com/N1goiWHa91
— Tyler O'Neil (@Tyler2ONeil) January 30, 2025
“My colleague and friend Senator Durbin called you a ‘conspiracy theorist,'” Kennedy said to Patel. “You remember that?”
“I do, Senator,” Patel replied.
“You were instrumental in revealing the Trump-Russia election-collusion hoax was a hoax, weren’t you?” Kennedy asked.
Patel said that he was, and confirmed that he had been the lead investigator on that particular case. For a moment, Kennedy remained silent, hands folded, and simply nodded his head.
“Sounds to me like we need to get some new conspiracy theories because all the old ones turned out to be true,” he observed.
Patel laughed, and added, “Facts matter, senator.”
“I mean, conspiracy theorists are up something like 37 to nothing,” Kennedy said, prompting more laughter, before pivoting to a more serious line of questions: “You’re not saying everybody at the FBI is bad, are you?”
“I’ve never said that,” Patel replied. “I’ve overwhelmingly said, multiple times, that 98% of the FBI is courageous, apolitical warriors for justice. They just need better leadership.”
Patel’s hearing included a series of contentious exchanges with Democrats like Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who used her allotted time to make several attempts — all of which failed — to walk Patel into a rhetorical trap.
Also on Capitol Hill for hearings on Thursday were Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who was nominated to be Director of National Intelligence.
