
Senate Democrat requests probe into FBI Director Patel's use of government plane
As FBI director, Patel is required to fly on a government plane for all his travel for security reasons. If such flights are used for personal travel, the director is required by federal regulations to reimburse the government at the rate of a commercial flight.
The request from Senator Dick Durbin to the Government Accountability Office came the day Patel was slated to appear in the first of two congressional appropriations hearings where he will face questions about how he has been running the bureau and press Congress to give the FBI more money.
An FBI spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Durbin's letter or answer questions on whether Patel had reimbursed the government for any travel that has been personal in nature.
Patel, unlike most of his predecessors, has embraced the limelight as FBI director. His social media account on X is flooded with photos of him attending NHL games and Ultimate Fighting Championship matches, where he has posed for pictures with celebrities including legendary hockey player Wayne Gretzky and actor Mel Gibson.
Public flight-tracking data shows that an FBI plane made at least three trips out to Nashville, where Patel's girlfriend and country singer Alexis Wilkins resides.
On at least one of those trips, Patel met with Governor Bill Lee and Republican Senators Bill Hagerty and Marsha Blackburn, according to his social media posts.
Public flight records also show several FBI planes took trips to Las Vegas, where Patel maintains a residence, as well as to New York City. The timing of the New York flight coincided with an appearance by Patel at an Islanders hockey game.
The New York Times previously reported on some of the flights.
"Some of these flights appear to coincide with official business, but it is not clear whether all travel was mission-related or personal in nature," Durbin wrote in his letter.
Durbin added that public reporting on the flights "underscores the need for clarity on whether DOJ executives—including the FBI Director — are complying with applicable regulations and reimbursement requirements for nonmission-related travel."
Last week, Reuters reported that the White House is asking Congress to consider cutting the FBI's budget by about $550 million, from its current spending level of $10.6 billion.
In prepared testimony on Wednesday before a U.S. House appropriations subcommittee, Patel urged Congress to give the bureau the funds it needs to combat violent crime and terrorism.
"Without the funds to get ahead of our adversaries, we risk making tradeoffs that will jeopardize the safety of all Americans," he said in prepared remarks.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Independent
18 minutes ago
- The Independent
Judge stays execution to evaluate if Alabama inmate is competent
A state judge has stayed an upcoming execution in Alabama to evaluate whether the man is too mentally ill to be put to death. The judge temporarily stayed the Aug. 21 execution of David Lee Roberts until it can be established whether he has a 'rational understanding' of what is to happen to him. 'Or similarly put, the issue is whether the petitioner's concept of reality is so impaired that he cannot grasp the execution's meaning and the purpose or the link between his crime and its punishment,' Marion County Circuit Judge Talmage Lee Carter wrote in the July 10 order. Carter said the execution will be on hold until a report from the Alabama Department of Mental Health is finished. It is not immediately clear how long that will take. Roberts was convicted of killing Annetra Jones in 1992 by shooting her in the head. His execution was scheduled to be carried out by nitrogen gas, a method Alabama began using last year. Attorneys representing Roberts argue that his death sentence should be suspended due to severe illness. Roberts has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia diagnosis, hears voices and is delusional, they said in a court filing. He also recently attempted to burn tattoos off his arm and leg because he believed they 'are trying to control his thoughts,' his lawyers said. 'This evidence demonstrates Mr. Roberts is incompetent to be executed because his delusions prevent him from having a factual or rational understanding of the reason,' they said. The Alabama attorney general's office is not appealing the stay. The state asked that the competency evaluation by expedited. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states cannot execute prisoners who are insane and do not understand their impending execution and the reasons for it. However state law does not provide a clear standard on what courts must find in determining someone's competency to be executed. In 1992, Roberts, now 59, was a houseguest at Jones' boyfriend's home in Marion County. Prosecutors said that on the afternoon of April 22, he came to the home, packed his belongings, stole money and shot Jones three times in the head with a .22 caliber rifle while she slept on the couch. He then set the house on fire after dousing Jones' body and the floor with a flammable liquid, prosecutors said. Jurors convicted Roberts of capital murder and voted 7-5 to recommend that he receive life in prison without parole. A judge overrode that and sentenced him to death. Alabama no longer allows judges to override jury sentences in capital cases.


The Independent
18 minutes ago
- The Independent
Drug prevention officer exposed by his own bodycam after it records video of his affair with married school teacher
A Tennessee police officer who taught drug prevention to children was betrayed by his own bodycam after it captured him having an affair with a school teacher. Brian Gilley, who has since been dismissed from the Lebanon Police Department, is accused of engaging in sexual activity with Shelby Moss inside school property while on duty. The bodyworn footage, obtained by WZTV, showed the pair kissing in a classroom in August 2024, moments after a child leaves the room. The video was blurred to hide the youngster's identity. Moss worked at the Castle Heights Elementary School, in Lebanon, and Gilley had been assigned to work there as a Drug Abuse Resistance Education officer. The Lebanon Police Department said that a month later in September, another incident took place after classes had ended, during which the two engaged in sexual activity – though there is no footage of that incident. Gilley later said he was unsure whether any students were still on school grounds at the time. According to Fox, Gilley denied the allegations in an internal interview, telling investigators that no sexual contact occurred while he was on duty. But he later admitted to the relationship and resigned soon after. During a decertification hearing in April 2025, Gilley asked for forgiveness, saying: 'I know I've done wrong, but I've also impacted that community in so many ways. It was a mistake and it will never happen again.' He added he was 'very embarrassed' by his conduct. In May 2025, the Tennessee Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission voted to decertify Gilley, who is now barred from serving in law enforcement in the state. In a statement, Lebanon Police Department Chief, Mike Justice, said: 'While Gilley's actions did not align with our department's standards or policies, the conduct was not criminal in nature, did NOT involve children, and did NOT occur in the presence of children or in the classroom. ' 'We hold our officers to the highest standards of professionalism and integrity. Gilley's actions fell short of those expectations that our community demands and deserves.' LPD reported that Moss was married at the time of this relationship with Gilley. She received a two-day suspension earlier this year but later resigned in May. A spokesperson for the Lebanon Special School District told Fox Nashville that the district had been made aware 'that a teacher engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a police officer after hours while on campus,' in December 2024. 'The District immediately conducted a thorough investigation and took appropriate disciplinary action in line with our policies and procedures,' the spokesperson said. 'We want to assure our families and community that we take all concerns seriously and act promptly to maintain a safe and respectful learning environment for everyone."


BBC News
19 minutes ago
- BBC News
FEMA announces funds for states to detain undocumented migrants
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has announced more than $600m (£446m) in funding for states and local entities to detain undocumented migrants while they await transfer to federal new grant comes as the Trump administration seeks to carry out mass deportations and redefine the disaster relief agency's mission and says the programme will relieve overcrowding at short-term holding facilities and increase detention capacity in local and state facilities. The agency had previously administered a shelter and services programme that helped states and cities support non-citizen migrants released by the Department of Homeland Security, its parent agency. That programme was terminated, however, and the new grant for detentions appeared to be a new iteration of those funds, William Turner, Connecticut's state emergency management director, told the have until 8 August to apply for the new frequently publishes funding opportunities for states, cities, and local communities to pay for emergency training, preparedness, and equipment. But this new grant comes as the Trump administration turns to states for assistance in carrying out its mass deportation states like Florida, led by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, have assisted the White House in carrying out its goal. Florida now runs a detention facility known as "Alligator Alcatraz" with the capacity to house up to 2,000 people, according to state officials. The state converted an all-but-abandoned airport in Florida's Everglades for the purpose. Critics have challenged the alleged inhumane conditions inside the facility its location would lead to environmental of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said "Alligator Alcatraz" will cost about $450m to operate and that funds would come from FEMA's prior shelter and services a visit this month, President Donald Trump said the detention centre was "surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland and the only way out is, really, deportation".At a press conference on Friday, DeSantis said the Trump administration had called on states to assist with the mass deportations and cast the Florida facility as a model."I would reiterate that call, I think it will make a difference," DeSantis said deportation flights have begun to depart from that detention facility and that "hundreds" of other detainees on the site in the Everglades have been processed for has undergone a transformation during the Trump administration, as the president and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have floated the idea of shuttering the agency and transferring its responsibilities to individual emergency management officials have departed the agency along with hundreds of staff who left amid the Trump administration's effort to drastically reduce the federal workforce.