Kash Patel Explained

Kash Patel
Birth Name:Kashyap Pramod Patel
Birth Date:25 February 1980
Birth Place:Garden City, New York, U.S.
Party:Republican
Education:University of Richmond (BA)
Pace University (JD)

Kashyap Pramod "Kash" Patel (born February 25, 1980)[1] is an American attorney and former government official. He served as a U.S. National Security Council official, senior advisor to the acting Director of National Intelligence, and chief of staff to the acting United States secretary of defense during the Trump presidency.[2] [3] [4] A member of the Republican Party, Patel previously worked as a senior aide to congressman Devin Nunes when he chaired the House Intelligence Committee.[5] He was previously a federal public defender, a federal prosecutor working on national security cases, and a legal liaison to the United States Armed Forces.[6]

Patel has widely been described by news organizations as a "Trump loyalist."[7] [8] As an aide to Congressman Devin Nunes, Patel played a key role in helping Republican attempts to fight the investigations into Donald Trump and Russian interference in the 2016 election.[9]

Early life and education

Kashyap "Kash" Patel was born in 1980 in Garden City, New York to Gujarati Indian parents who had immigrated to the United States from East Africa, via Canada.[10] He graduated from Garden City High School.

Patel graduated from the University of Richmond in 2002. He received a certificate in international law from University College London in 2004,[11] and earned a Juris Doctor from Pace University School of Law in 2005.[12]

Career

Early career

After graduating from law school in 2005, Patel worked as a public defender in Florida for eight years, first in the Miami-Dade County public defender's office and later as a federal public defender.[12] As a public defender he represented clients charged with felonies including international drug trafficking, murder, firearms violations, and bulk cash smuggling.[13]

In 2014, Patel was hired as a trial attorney in the United States Department of Justice National Security Division, where he simultaneously served as a legal liaison to the Joint Special Operations Command.[12] In 2017, Patel was appointed senior counsel on counterterrorism at the House Select Committee on Intelligence.[14]

Aide to Devin Nunes

In April 2017, Patel became the senior committee aide to House Intelligence Committee chair Devin Nunes. Patel played a prominent role in the Republican opposition to the investigations into Donald Trump and Russian interference in the 2016 election.

According to The New York Times, Patel was the primary author of the 2018 Nunes memo, alleging FBI misconduct in its application for a warrant from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for electronic surveillance of former Trump campaign aide Carter Page.[15]

That claim was disputed by the committee's staff director, by a spokesman for Nunes, and by unattributed sources interviewed by India Abroad. Patel did not offer a public comment on the matter. The New York Times opined that the memo was widely dismissed as "biased" containing "cherry-picked facts", but "it galvanized President Trump's allies and made Mr. Patel a hero among them".[16]

After Democrats took control of the House of Representatives in January 2019,[17] Patel worked for about a month as a senior counsel at the House Reform and Oversight Committee.[18]

Executive branch

Positions

Patel was hired in February 2019 as a staffer for President Trump's National Security Council (NSC), working in the International Organizations and Alliances directorate, and in July 2019 became Senior Director of the Counterterrorism Directorate,[19] a new position created for him. According to The Wall Street Journal, Patel led a secret mission to Damascus in early 2020 to negotiate the release of Majd Kamalmaz and journalist Austin Tice, both of whom were being held by the Syrian government.[20]

In February 2020, Patel moved to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI),[21] becoming a Principal Deputy[22] to Acting Director Richard Grenell. Later that month, Patel was part of Trump's entourage during the state visit of the United States to the Republic of India and was noted in press reports as one of two Americans of Indian descent to accompany the president.[23] [24]

Patel has widely been described as a "Trump loyalist".

Trump-Ukraine scandal

Within months of Patel's appointment to the NSC, it was suspected that Patel had assumed the role of an additional independent back channel for the President, which was seen as potentially detrimental to American policy in Ukraine. It was noticed that during NSC meetings Patel took few notes and was underqualified for his portfolio, the United Nations.[16] [25]

Red flags were raised when Trump referred to Patel as "one of his top Ukraine policy specialists" and as such wished "to discuss related documents with him". Patel's actual assignment was counter-terrorism issues, rather than Ukraine. He was thought to have operated independently of Giuliani's irregular, informal channel. Impeachment inquiry witnesses were asked what they knew about Patel. Fiona Hill told investigators that it seems "Patel was improperly becoming involved in Ukraine policy and was sending information to Mr. Trump." Gordon Sondland and Kent testified they did not come across Patel in the course of their work.

On December 3, 2019, the House Intelligence Committee's report included phone records, acquired via subpoenas to AT&T and/or Verizon, including a 25-minute phone call between Patel and Giuliani on May 10, 2019.[26] The call occurred after Giuliani and Patel attempted to call each other for several hours, and less than an hour after a call between Giuliani and Kurt Volker. Five minutes after the 25-minute call between Giuliani and Patel, an unidentified phone number called Giuliani for over 17 minutes, after which Giuliani called his associate Lev Parnas for approximately 12 minutes.

In a statement to CBS News on December 4, 2019, Patel denied being part of Giuliani's Ukraine back-channel, saying he was "never a back channel to President Trump on Ukraine matters, at all, ever",[27] and that his call with Giuliani was "personal".[28]

In an October 2019 story, Politico, citing an anonymous source it reported had formerly worked at the White House, wrote that Patel had "unique access" to Donald Trump and had provided "out of scope" advice to him on the United States' Ukraine policy.[29] Patel denied the claims and, the following month, sued Politico for defamation, seeking $25 million in damages.

Reported move to lead CIA

In January 2021, Axios reported that Trump had considered Patel for appointment as Acting Director of the Central Intelligence Agency to replace Gina Haspel.[1] [30] According to Axios, Patel was to be appointed Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency immediately before a planned dismissal of Haspel, allowing him to head the agency in an acting capacity.[1] [30] In an interview with Vanity Fair, Ezra Cohen-Watnick confirmed parts of the Axios report. Patel declined to comment.[1] [30]

U.S. Department of Defense

In November 2020, Patel was made chief of staff to Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher C. Miller, a move that followed Trump's firing of Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.[31] Patel reportedly argued that Esper was disloyal to Trump by refusing to deploy military troops to Washington to quell the George Floyd protests.

Foreign Policy magazine connected the move to Trump's "refusal to accept the election results".[32] Based on interviews with defense experts, Alex Ward of Vox suggested that Patel's appointment was "not sinister", would "not change much", and may have served an effort to accelerate the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.[33] According to an unnamed source quoted by Vanity Fair, Miller was a "front man" during his time as Acting Secretary of Defense while Patel and Cohen-Watnick were "calling the shots" at the Department of Defense.[1] Another source told the magazine that Patel was the most influential person in the U.S. government on matters of national security.[1]

After the November 2020 election, Patel reportedly blocked some Department of Defense officials from helping the Biden administration transition, according to NBC. As chief of staff, Patel was designated to lead the Department of Defense's coordination with the presidential transition of Joe Biden, and also supported a departmental initiative to separate the National Security Agency from the U.S. Cyber Command.[34] [35]

Involvement in Trump documents investigation

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) found in 2021 that Trump had taken some presidential documents with him to his home in Florida after leaving office. After Trump returned some documents, NARA found others were still missing, including some that were highly classified. NARA referred the matter to the FBI, and after requests and a subpoena to return the documents went unheeded, the FBI entered Trump's home under a search warrant to retrieve them. Patel publicly asserted that Trump had declassified broad sets of sensitive documents before leaving the White House. In October 2022, Patel was summoned to testify before a federal grand jury investigating the matter, but he declined to answer questions by invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Patel was represented in the matter by lawyer Stanley Woodward.[36] The Justice Department sought but failed to persuade a federal judge to compel Patel's testimony, whereupon he was granted immunity to testify, which he did on November 4, 2022.[37] [38]

Post-government career

In April 2022, Patel became a member of the board of directors for the Trump Media & Technology Group, owner of the Truth Social media platform.[39]

Patel is the author of a children's picture book, titled The Plot Against the King, that affirms that the Steele dossier was used as evidence to initiate the investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. Illustrated by Laura Vincent, the book was published in May 2022 by Brave Books.[40] [41]

On June 19, 2022, Trump sent a letter to the National Archives naming Patel and John Solomon as "representatives for access to Presidential records of my administration".[42]

In 2022, Patel created Fight With Kash, a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charity, to raise donations for "helping other people" in need, though more specifically to bring "America First patriots" together and "helping fight the Deep State." Patel said he "funded whistleblowers campaigns," which Democrats on the Republican-controlled House Judiciary weaponization subcommittee said included former FBI employees the FBI claimed endorse "an alarming series of conspiracy theories related to the January 6 Capitol attack ... and the validity of the 2020 election."

During a December 2023 appearance on the Steve Bannon "War Room" podcast, Patel concurred with Bannon's assertions that Donald Trump is "dead serious" about his intent to seek revenge against his political enemies should he be elected in 2024. Patel stated:

"We will go out and find the conspirators — not just in government, but in the media ... we're going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections ... We're going to come after you. Whether it's criminally or civilly, we'll figure that out. But yeah, we're putting you all on notice, and Steve, this is why they hate us. This is why we're tyrannical. This is why we're dictators ... Because we're actually going to use the Constitution to prosecute them for crimes they said we have always been guilty of but never have.[43]

Patel's remarks came during concurrent reporting in The New York Times about "a series of plans by Mr. Trump and his allies that would upend core elements of American governance, democracy, foreign policy and the rule of law if he regained the White House." Axios reported days later that Patel was being considered for a top national security position in a second Trump administration.[44] [45]

Personal life

Patel resides in the District of Columbia.[13] He plays ice hockey.[46] In 2014, he agreed to participate in a bachelor auction of what Above the Law described as "very handsome lawyers" to benefit Switchboard of Miami,[47] but he withdrew from the auction after a blogger noted his Florida law license had expired.[48]

Notes and References

  1. News: Ciralsky . Adam . Embedding with Pentagon Leadership in Trump's Chaotic Last Week . January 23, 2021 . . January 22, 2021 . January 22, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210122204143/https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/01/embedding-with-pentagon-leadership-in-trumps-chaotic-last-week . live .
  2. News: Lippman . Daniel . NSC aide who worked to discredit Russia probe moves to senior ODNI post . Politico . February 20, 2020.
  3. News: Levine . Mike . Trump loyalist Kash Patel's tax-exempt charity raises questions, experts say . ABC News . March 8, 2023.
  4. News: Reports: Trump aide Kash Patel offered immunity in Mar-a-Lago documents probe . USA Today . November 2, 2022.
  5. News: Kashyap Patel, Main Author of Secret Memo, Is No Stranger to Quarrels . The New York Times . February 2, 2018. Katie Rogers. Matthew Rosenberg.
  6. News: Shinkman . Paul . Trump's Pentagon Shake-Up Has Implications for Afghanistan . January 23, 2021 . . November 12, 2020 . January 6, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210106231131/https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2020-11-12/trumps-pentagon-shake-up-has-implications-for-afghanistan . live .
  7. Web site: Trump loyalist Patel limits Biden transition access to Pentagon staff. April 16, 2021. NBC News. December 5, 2020 . en. February 19, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210219110122/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/trump-loyalist-kash-patel-blocking-some-pentagon-officials-helping-biden-n1250053. live.
  8. Web site: Swan. Jonathan. Gina Haspel threatened to resign over plan to install Trump loyalist Kash Patel as CIA deputy. April 16, 2021. Axios. January 16, 2021 . en. April 15, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210415155415/https://www.axios.com/kash-patel-cia-gina-haspel-757b92c0-82a5-457b-bde8-d0d683ee222e.html. live.
  9. News: Youssef. Warren P. Strobel and Nancy A.. November 10, 2020. White House National Security Council Aide Is Named to Top Pentagon Post. en-US. The Wall Street Journal. April 16, 2021. 0099-9660. June 6, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210606012728/https://www.wsj.com/articles/white-house-national-security-council-aide-is-named-to-top-pentagon-post-11605037916. live.
  10. News: Haniffa . Aziz . Trump admirer Kashyap 'Kash' Patel lands important White House position . January 1, 2021 . India Abroad . August 13, 2019 . December 23, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201223031346/https://www.indiaabroad.com/us_affairs/trump-admirer-kashyap-kash-patel-lands-important-white-house-position/article_9a437cfa-b8a7-11e9-b9bd-a7f4d294de7f.html . live .
  11. Web site: November 22, 2019 . Who is Kashyap Patel, Indian-American official named as source for Ukraine info at Trump impeachment . 2022-08-21 . gulfnews.com . en.
  12. News: November 11, 2020 . Indian-American named Chief of Staff . . live . January 1, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210330155037/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/indian-american-named-chief-of-staff-to-acting-us-defence-secretary/articleshow/79165009.cms . March 30, 2021.
  13. . and . --> . 2019 . Patel v. Politico LLC et al . . Case 3:19-cv-00879-MHL, Exhibit 1 . January 2, 2021. March 30, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210330155119/https://ecf.vaed.uscourts.gov/doc1/189110113099 . live.
  14. News: Who is Kashyap 'Kash' Patel? . January 1, 2021 . . February 3, 2018 . November 9, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201109021507/https://indianexpress.com/article/who-is/who-is-kashyap-kash-patel-5050312/ . live .
  15. News: Ignatius . David . April 17, 2021 . How Kash Patel rose from obscure Hill staffer to key operative in Trump's battle with the intelligence community . The Washington Post . live . May 23, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210518135600/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/04/16/kash-patel-trump-intelligence-community/ . May 18, 2021.
  16. News: Barnes. Julian E.. Goldman. Adam. Fandos. Nicholas. October 23, 2019. White House Aides Feared That Trump Had Another Ukraine Back Channel. The New York Times. October 25, 2019. February 9, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210209190934/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/23/us/politics/kash-patel-ukraine.html. live.
  17. News: Snell . Kelsey . 2018-11-06 . Election Results Give Split Decision: Democrats Win House & GOP Keeps Senate Majority . en . NPR . 2022-08-21.
  18. Web site: Kash Patel - Biography . 2022-08-21 . www.legistorm.com . en.
  19. News: Swan . Betsy . 2019-07-31 . Nunes Ally Kash Patel Who Fought Russia Probe Gets Senior White House National Security Job . en . The Daily Beast . 2022-08-21.
  20. News: October 19, 2020 . White House official held secret talks in Syria to free US citizens . . . live . January 1, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201127150041/https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/us-official-held-secret-talks-in-syria-to-free-us-citizens-report-646174 . November 27, 2020.
  21. Web site: Lippman . Daniel . February 20, 2020 . NSC aide who worked to discredit Russia probe moves to senior ODNI post . 2022-08-21 . POLITICO . en.
  22. News: Jha. Lalit K. December 17, 2020. Indian-American Pentagon official Kash Patel sues CNN, seeks USD 50 mn for defamation. Yahoo. Press Trust of India. January 1, 2021. March 30, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210330155042/https://in.news.yahoo.com/indian-american-pentagon-official-kash-094316370.html. live.
  23. News: Roy . Shubhajit . February 23, 2020 . Trump's visit: Two Indian-Americans part of US President's 16-member delegation . India Abroad . live . January 2, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200313183315/https://indianexpress.com/article/india/trumps-visit-two-indian-americans-part-of-us-presidents-16-member-delagation-6281799/ . March 13, 2020.
  24. News: Duttagupta . Ishani . February 15, 2020 . US President's delegation to India may include several Indian American officials . . live . January 2, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210330155039/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/us-presidents-delegation-to-india-may-include-several-indian-american-officials/articleshow/74153326.cms . March 30, 2021.
  25. News: Bertrand. Natasha. Natasha Bertrand. October 23, 2019. Nunes protégé fed Ukraine info to Trump. Politico. October 25, 2019. October 24, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191024134015/https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/23/nunes-protege-ukraine-trump-055837. live.
  26. Web site: December 3, 2019. Report of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Pursuant to H. Res. 660 in Consultation with the House Committee on Oversight and Reform and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. December 5, 2019. United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. December 4, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191204093152/https://intelligence.house.gov/uploadedfiles/20191203_-_full_report___hpsci_impeachment_inquiry_-_20191203.pdf. live.
  27. News: December 5, 2019. CBS News Exclusive: White House staffer Kash Patel denies he was back channel to Trump on Ukraine. CBS News. December 6, 2019. February 9, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210209190854/https://www.cbsnews.com/video/cbs-news-exclusive-white-house-staffer-kash-patel-denies-he-was-back-channel-to-trump-on-ukraine/. live.
  28. News: Falconer. Rebecca. December 5, 2019. NSC staffer tells CBS phone call with Giuliani listed in impeachment report was "personal". Axios. December 6, 2019. February 9, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210209190902/https://www.axios.com/nsc-staffer-giuliani-call-personal-not-on-ukraine-60aa1078-381e-4f40-a46e-5d78b78646a7.html. live.
  29. News: Irby . Kate . Devin Nunes' lawyer files another defamation lawsuit, this time for White House official . January 2, 2021 . . . November 18, 2019 . December 27, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201227142130/https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article237500834.html . live .
  30. News: Swan . Jonathan . Episode 5: The secret CIA plan . January 23, 2021 . . January 18, 2021 . March 22, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210322211050/https://www.axios.com/off-the-rails-trump-cia-kash-patel-6c5ea317-43e9-48da-993f-5c7ab823c4c1.html . live .
  31. News: Indian-American Kash Patel Named Chief Of Staff To Acting US Defence Secretary . January 1, 2021 . . . November 11, 2020 . November 29, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201129115444/https://www.ndtv.com/indians-abroad/indian-american-kash-patel-named-chief-of-staff-to-acting-us-defence-secretary-2323673 . live .
  32. News: More Top Pentagon Officials Out After Trump Sacks Esper . January 9, 2021 . . November 10, 2020 . February 12, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210212190053/https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/11/10/trump-esper-pentagon-defense-fired-resignations-after-elections-2020-white-house/ . live .
  33. News: Ward . Alex . Why Trump is suddenly replacing Pentagon officials with loyalists . January 9, 2021 . . November 11, 2020 . February 23, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210223031017/https://www.vox.com/21560260/trump-pentagon-defense-secretary-esper-afghanistan . live .
  34. News: Feldscher . Jacqueline . Kash Patel, recently installed Trump loyalist, now leading Pentagon transition . January 1, 2021 . . November 24, 2020 . January 17, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210117124319/https://www.politico.com/news/2020/11/24/kash-patel-pentagon-transition-440293 . live .
  35. News: Volz . Dustin . Defense Officials Push Proposal to Separate NSA, Cyber Command . January 2, 2021 . . December 20, 2020 . January 26, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210126082025/https://www.wsj.com/articles/defense-officials-push-proposal-to-separate-nsa-cyber-command-11608420491 . live .
  36. Web site: Meet the legal nerd who MAGA bigwigs are turning to for help. Kyle. Cheney. November 30, 2022. POLITICO.
  37. News: Trump Aide, Granted Immunity, Set to Testify at Grand Jury Probing Mar-a-Lago Documents . The Wall Street Journal . November 2, 2022. Sadie Gurman. Alex Leary.
  38. News: Howell . Hugo . Top Trump adviser granted immunity testifies in Mar-a-Lago papers case . The Guardian . November 4, 2022.
  39. News: Matthew . Goldstein . Trump Media adds former Devin Nunes aides, Donald Jr. and "Apprentice" contestant as officers. . subscription . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220425174208/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/25/business/trump-media-truth-social.html . April 25, 2022 . April 25, 2022 . August 26, 2022.
  40. Web site: Hugo . Lowell . Hugo Lowell . Former Trump official Kash Patel writes children's book repeating false claim over Steele dossier . The Guardian, US Edition . Guardian News & Media Limited . May 19, 2022 . May 16, 2022 . May 21, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220521215342/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/may/16/former-trump-official-kash-patel-writes-childrens-book-repeating-false-claim-over-steele-dossier . live .
  41. Web site: The Plot Against the King . Brave Books . May 19, 2022 . May 16, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220516233324/https://bravebooks.us/products/the-plot-against-the-king-kash-patel . live .
  42. News: Bump . Philip . Analysis - http which Democrats called timing of Trump naming two allies to access his records suspicious. . . August 15, 2022 . August 16, 2022.
  43. News: Fortinsky . Sarah . Bannon, Patel say Trump 'dead serious' about revenge on media: 'We're going to come after you' . The Hill . December 5, 2023.
  44. News: How Trump and His Allies Plan to Wield Power in 2025 . The New York Times . December 4, 2023. Jonathan Swan. Maggie Haberman. Charlie Savage.
  45. News: Behind the Curtain — Exclusive: How Trump would build his loyalty-first Cabinet . Axios . December 7, 2023. Mike Allen. Jim VandeHei.
  46. Web site: Kashyap P. Patel, Esq. . defense.gov . . January 1, 2021 . January 28, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210128004347/https://www.defense.gov/Our-Story/Biographies/Biography/Article/2418491/kashyap-p-patel/ . live .
  47. News: Zaretsky . Staci . Very Prestigious Lawyers Are Selling Themselves To Women For The Highest Price . January 1, 2020 . . January 17, 2014 . March 30, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210330155040/https://abovethelaw.com/2014/01/very-prestigious-lawyers-are-selling-themselves-to-women-for-the-highest-price/ . live .
  48. News: Rogers. Katie. Rosenberg. Matthew. Kashyap Patel, Main Author of Secret Memo, Is No Stranger to Quarrels. January 15, 2021. The New York Times. February 2, 2018. February 9, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210209190931/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/02/us/politics/kashyap-patel-nunes-memo.html. live.

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