'Hypocrisy on steroids': Patel dismisses claims of FBI politicization after Comey charges

FBI Director Kash Patel on Friday dismissed accusations of the bureau's politicization as "hypocrisy on steroids" after former FBI Director James Comey's indictment.

"Career FBI agents, intel analysts, and staff led the investigation into Comey and others. They called the balls and strikes and will continue to do so," Patel posted on X.

"The wildly false accusations attacking this FBI for the politicization of law enforcement comes from the same bankrupt media that sold the world on Russia Gate- it’s hypocrisy on steroids," he added. "Their baseless objections tell us now, more than ever, that we are precisely over the target and will remain on mission until completion. Thank you to this brave FBI team. Mission First."

Comey was indicted by a federal grand jury in Virginia on Thursday over allegations by the Justice Department that he made false statements to Congress when he denied leaking information to the media and for alleged obstruction of justice.

In a video posted after the indictment, Comey said that he is innocent and not afraid of a trial.

The indictment followed the resignation of the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Erik Siebert, who originally oversaw the case over concerns regarding the evidence. President Trump, who said he fired Siebert, then told Attorney General Pam Bondi to bring charges against Comey.

Democrats voiced their concerns over the case, noting that the charges were brought just days before the five-year statute of limitations on potential charges would run out and after Trump appointed a new U.S. attorney to replace Siebert, The Hill reported. Also, in a rare move, the federal grand jury rejected one of the three proposed counts by the DOJ regarding Comey.

“Today, after firing his own choice for U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, Donald Trump finally got a subservient new replacement to carry out his revenge prosecution against former FBI Director James Comey by bringing baseless criminal charges against him,” Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said Thursday.

“He forced Mr. Seibert to resign in order to replace him with one of his former defense attorneys, Lindsey Halligan, who has literally no prosecutorial experience but is clearly willing to blindly carry out the president’s orders," Raskin said. "As if by magic, within mere days of being appointed, Ms. Halligan delivered for the president by filing the exact baseless charges against Mr. Comey that her predecessor had rejected.”