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A senior FBI official is pushing back against an MS NOW report that FBI Director Kash Patel told his girlfriend’s security detail to drive her intoxicated friend home after a night out in Nashville. The outlet claims this has happened multiple times.
Ben Williamson, the FBI’s assistant director for public affairs, denied the story in a post on X and directly criticized the reporter involved.
“1,000% false and did not happen. And I’d like to give some BTS insight into how this hogwash got printed,” Williamson wrote Friday.
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Williamson said he first received the allegation on Tuesday.
“It sounded made up and I told the reporter so. I went and checked with everyone involved – Alexis (who doesn’t even drink), the Director, the Detail, and more – all of whom said it didn’t happen. Couldn’t find any corroboration or record of it whatsoever,” wrote Williamson.
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He claims to have then returned to the reporter and asked for the source of the claims so he could help provide evidence against them. He alleges MS NOW responded: “We do not have that info but are comfortable with our sourcing.”
His message was in response to a post by MS NOW Justice and Intelligence Correspondent Ken Dilanian, one of the reporters on the story.
Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino hold a news conference at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., on December 4. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
MS NOW reported that Patel ordered SWAT agents assigned to his girlfriend’s protective detail to drive her allegedly inebriated friend home, citing “three people with knowledge of the incidents” who were granted anonymity.
The story characterized the incident as part of a pattern of Patel misusing FBI resources. Patel is the first FBI director to give his partner a security detail, aside from occasions when former directors’ spouses received protection while traveling with them.
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In a previous Fox News interview, Patel denied misusing funds or government aircraft.
“I’m entitled to a personal life, just like my other agency-head counterparts with their partners. Do I support my girlfriend? Absolutely. Do I take trips with her? Absolutely,” Patel said.
FBI Director Kash Patel White House speaks during a press briefing at the White House, Wednesday, Nov. 12, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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“But when they’re talking about raid jackets and Velcro and FBI plane use, they’re not talking about the facts, because they know this FBI is succeeding in ways prior leadership failed.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to MS NOW for comment.
