Reuters captures Kash Patel’s ‘Durbin info’ cheat sheet on camera during hearing — and it goes viral

BS BULLETIN:

FBI Director Kash Patel showed up for Tuesday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing with pages of research on Democrats questioning him.
A Reuters photographer captured a close-up of one page boldly labeled “DURBIN INFO.”
Patel’s notes included prepared attacks involving Sen. Dick Durbin’s wealth, campaign disclosures and his wife’s lobbying work.

FBI Director Kash Patel apparently came to Capitol Hill prepared for more than answering questions.

He brought receipts — or at least a cheat sheet full of them.

A Reuters photographer caught a close-up Tuesday of Patel’s notes during his appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee, revealing a page prominently labeled: “DURBIN INFO.”

That would be Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the committee’s ranking Democrat and one of the lawmakers preparing to grill Patel over his leadership of the FBI. According to the photographed page, Patel had several potential lines of attack ready.

The notes asserted that Durbin’s wealth had “increased 364% since 1997” and referenced a Federal Election Commission fine for late disclosures.

Then came Durbin’s wife. Patel’s notes alleged “Wife has lobbying conflicts” and claimed clients connected to her lobbying work received more than $1 million in federal earmarks promoted by Durbin.

But the fact that the FBI director had arrived with opposition-style research on one of his interrogators quickly became its own story. NewsNation Capitol Hill correspondent Joe Khalil circulated the Reuters close-up, drawing attention to the “oppo research” Patel had with him.

The New York Post reported that Patel had several pages of notes and that it was unclear what additional material he had prepared on other senators.

There was plenty of combat to prepare for. Durbin accused Patel during the hearing of politicizing the FBI and called him the “least qualified and most partisan FBI director” in the bureau’s history.

Patel pushed back repeatedly during the hearing, including challenging Democrats over the Biden administration’s handling of the Epstein files. But the Post reported that Patel did not appear to deploy the photographed Durbin material while Durbin himself was questioning him.

He did, however, take a similar approach later. During a heated exchange with Democratic Vermont Sen. Peter Welch, Patel challenged the senator over his finances, asking how Welch’s wealth had increased “4,000%” since becoming a senator.