FBI Director Kash Patel made it clear he doesn’t sweat his predecessor, disgraced former director James Comey, who took a shot at Patel by saying he wasn’t properly equipped to handle the responsibility of running the federal law enforcement agency.
During an interview on the Wednesday evening edition of Fox News’ “Special Report,” show host Bret Baier asked Patel about the Instagram post from Comey where he arranged shells to say “8647,” which many MAGA folk say is a threat on the life of President Donald Trump.
Others have said the message is a call for the president to be booted from power. Comey himself said that he wasn’t the one who arranged the shells. He only took the photograph, nothing more. Comey said he would never make a call for violence to bring about political change.
That would be terrorism, Mr. Comey. Surely, you, an American citizen, a patriot, wouldn’t want to participate in terrorism — also known as treason — against your own country, right?
“You know, the FBI is bigger than any leader it’s ever had or ever will have,” Patel went on to say about the post. “And James Comey is a private citizen, and he can walk around the beach and talk about seashells and Crayola crayons for all I care about and talk about how we’re the conspiracy theorists.”
“But I’ll just remind the American people of one thing,” he added. “When that man was the leader of the FBI, he perpetrated the largest criminal conspiracy, packaged political information from overseas, took it to a federal FISA court and illegally surveilled a political opponent.”
Y’all smell that? Somebody’s biscuits are burning.
“So, I won’t be lectured on how to run this FBI from that man,” the FBI chief said with resolve.
Comey recently stated that he’s not at all confident in the current leadership of the bureau, but has faith in the career officials working there.
“I hope the career people are able to support the director and the deputy director,” he said, making a reference to Patel and Bongino. “There are lots of people in the FBI who know what they’re doing. I hope these two guys are letting them guide them.”
🚨 WHOA: FBI DIRECTOR KASH PATEL goes OFF on James Comey, says he now has to pull valuable agents and analysts off of other assignments to deal with COPYCAT threats.
Holy smokes 🔥🔥
"If [Comey] wants to go after me? No problem. I've been living rent free in that guy's head for… pic.twitter.com/75Ciy00yCL
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 28, 2025
“Nothing in their life or their career gives me confidence that they know anything about leading an organization like that,” Comey added. “And so, I would have serious doubts.”
Responding to the criticisms from Comey, Patel said, “If [Comey] wants to go after me? No problem. I’ve been living rent free in that guy’s head for YEARS, and that’s just a bonus.”
“Do you know how many copycats we’ve had to investigate as a result of that beachside venture from the former director? Do you know how many agents I’ve had to take offline from chasing down child sex predators, fentanyl traffickers, terrorists, because everywhere across this country, people are popping up on social media?” He told Baier.
“[They] think that a threat to the life of the president of the United States is a joke and they can do it because he did it? That’s what I’m having to deal with every single day. And that’s what I’m having to pull my agents and analysts off because he thought it was funny to go out there and make a political statement,” he said.
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