On Tuesday afternoon, a heated argument between lifelong political opponents Adam Schiff and Kash Patel escalated to a climax, resulting in a brief interruption of a continuing hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The altercation started when California Democrat Adam Schiff questioned FBI director James Patel about the decision to transfer Ghislaine Maxwell, a friend of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, to a less secure jail.
Schiff probed Patel further, asking whether he thought the American people were “stupid” enough to accept his explanation that the relocation of Maxwell was a decision made independently by the Bureau of Prisons, rather than a politically driven action by the White House.
“What I am doing is protecting this country… and combating the weaponization of intelligence by the likes of you,” Patel interrupted Schiff, his voice filled with determination. Regarding Russiangate, on January 6, we have repeatedly shown that you are unreliable. You have to be the most dishonest senator who has ever served in America’s capital.
He was further characterized by Patel as “a political buffoon at best.”
Schiff has been at odds with Comey ever since he oversaw the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election while serving as leader of the House Intelligence Committee. The investigation’s credibility was to be undermined by Patel, who was employed by the House Intelligence at the time.
Five years down the road, Schiff was a member of a select committee that looked into the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021; in the meantime, Patel was a lawyer for several rioters in prison.
Years later, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee used Patel’s reposting of a meme depicting him putting a chainsaw to Schiff’s head as evidence that he should not be confirmed to head the FBI. According to another photo that Democrats posted, Patel appears to be holding something, while Schiff’s face is positioned next to a catapult.
Earlier this year, Patel accused Schiff, while serving as leader of the Intelligence Committee, of plotting to release damaging material on President Trump. The allegations have been refuted by Schiff, via his spokeswoman.
The senior Democrat on the Judiciary panel, Sen. Dick Durbin, urged with chair Chuck Grassley to take command of the situation as the yelling continued on Tuesday. With a series of hammer blows, Grassley proclaimed, “Both of you be quiet.”
On Tuesday, during what was arguably the most contentious part of the questioning, Patel was asked a number of questions on his handling of the Epstein case and the investigation into the murder of conservative political analyst Charlie Kirk, among other subjects.
This, however, was only the day’s first heated exchange. Another entanglement that Patel had with Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) was when Booker informed the head of the FBI, “I think you’re not gonna be around long”—implying that Trump will betray him at some point.
As a result of the remark, another yelling match ensued, with Booker responding with the words “I’m not afraid of you” and Patel labeling Booker as “an embarrassment to your country.”
Schiff accused Patel of trying to “save his job” by appearing before Congress and said that Patel was “performing for an audience of one” in a social media post following the hearing’s completion. Also, the president’s nickname for Schiff, “Pencil Neck,” was praised by the White House for Patel’s pursuit of Schiff.
On Wednesday, Patel is scheduled to appear before the House Judiciary Committee.