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January 30, 2025

WATCH: Sen. Schiff Questions Kash Patel, Trump’s Nominee for FBI Director, on Claims on Trump’s Classified Documents Case

Washington, D.C. — Today, during the Senate Committee on the Judiciary’s confirmation hearing, U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) questioned Kash Patel, President Donald Trump’s nominee for FBI Director, on his claims that Trump declassified all the documents at Mar-a-Lago. 

Yesterday, Schiff and Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), along with Judiciary Committee Democrats, sent a letter to Acting Attorney General James R. McHenry III, demanding the immediate release of key information and evidence pertaining to the nomination of Kash Patel as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). 

Watch the exchange HERE

Key Excerpt:

Schiff: Did you claim that Donald Trump declassified all the documents at Mar-a-Lago? Did you claim that?

Patel: In what proceeding?

Schiff: To the public, ever, did you tell anyone that Donald Trump declassified all the documents at Mar-a-Lago?

Patel: From publicly available information, President Trump issued a declassification order at a variety of  –

Schiff: – just asking you. Did you tell the public? Did you tell anyone? Did you make the claim that Donald Trump had declassified those hundreds of classified documents that were Mar-a-Lago? Did you make that claim? 

Patel: From my best of my recollection, I said President Trump issued a declassification order to a large number of documents. 

Schiff: Yeah. And were you present when he declassified all the Mar-a-Lago documents? 

Patel: Senator, I’m not saying he declassified all the Mar-a-Lago documents. I said President Trump declassified a large number of documents. And I would hope this committee and the rest of Congress would want to get those documents –

Schiff: Mr. Patel, before a President or anyone declassified documents, wouldn’t you want to know whether making them public would cause sources to be killed? Wouldn’t you want to know that before you just declare they’re all declassified. Wouldn’t that be the responsible thing for a president to do? 

Patel: It was the responsible thing for us to do and that’s why we declassified the Nunes memo. And no one died.

Schiff: And did Donald Trump ever ask any of the agencies who produced those documents whether declassifying them would put people’s lives at risk? Did he ever do that? To your knowledge, Kash Patel?

Patel: I don’t know that he didn’t. Do you?

Schiff: No, that’s the problem, isn’t it? That’s the problem, isn’t it? So let me just ask, Mr. Chairman, if you would, Mr. Patel has said he has no problem. He would support the release of his grand jury testimony in that case. I would ask you, Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member, to join me in requesting, with Mr. Patel’s approval, the release of those grand jury transcripts. And I would also ask Mr. Patel whether you support the release of Volume II as it pertains to you of the special counsel’s report. Any reference to you in the report to your truthfulness. Will you support the release to this committee of those sections of Volume IIof special counsel’s report? 

Patel: I support following the law and providing whatever information the law requires. 

Schiff: You said to the Wall Street Journal that you support transparency.

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