The FBI's handling of the Epstein files and its investigation into the killing of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk faced Senate scrutiny during a Tuesday morning hearing.
FBI Director Kash Patel opened by telling the Senate Judiciary Committee that the "original sin" of the Jeffrey Epstein case occurred decades ago when in 2008 then-U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta negotiated a plea agreement with Epstein, protecting him from federal charges in exchange for a guilty plea to state crimes.
"I'm here to testify that the original sin in the Epstein case was the way it was initially brought by Mr. Acosta back in 2006," Patel said. "The original case involved a very limited search warrant or set of search warrants, and didn't take as much investigative material it should have seized. If I were the FBI director then, it wouldn't have happened. The search warrants were limited to small time periods to include 2002-2005 and 1997-2001."
Patel has faced criticism for posting on X that a person was in custody in the Kirk case hours after his killing on Sept. 10. Patel wrote, "The subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody."
Less than two hours later, Patel had to walk back that post, stating at 7:59 p.m., stating "The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement."
The FBI also has faced criticism over its handling of files related to Epstein, a disgraced financier who had ties to prominent individuals, including President Trump and former President Bill Clinton. Epstein killed himself in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
In July, the Justice Department released a statement saying that Epstein did not have a "client list" and that there was no doubt that he had killed himself. The statement provoked a strong backlash among some of Trump's supporters who had expected the files regarding the case to be released.
The backlash resulted in hearings by the House Oversight Committee, which subpoenaed the Epstein files. The files are now in the process of being turned over to that committee.
