Durbin, Schiff, Judiciary Democrats Request Committee Access To Volume II Of Special Counsel Jack Smith's Report As It Pertains To Kash Patel's Nomination To Lead The FBI
Mr. Patel was granted immunity to testify before a grand jury investigating President Trump’s retention of classified materials after leaving office in 2021; the Special Counsel’s findings with regard to Mr. Patel’s related activities and statements remain unknown to the Committee and the public.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA), along with every Democratic member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today sent a letter to Acting Attorney General James McHenry requesting urgent access to materials that have not yet been shared with the Committee and bear directly on the suitability of Kash Patel, President Donald Trump’s pick to be Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), to lead the nation’s premier law enforcement agency. Specifically, the Committee requested any and all sections of Volume Two of the “Final Report of the Special Counsel’s Investigations and Prosecutions,” submitted on January 7, 2025, by Special Counsel Jack Smith to the Attorney General, that refer or pertain to Mr. Patel’s testimony or actions.
According to public reports, federal prosecutors subpoenaed Mr. Patel to testify before a grand jury investigating President Trump’s retention of classified materials after leaving office and granted Mr. Patel immunity to facilitate his testimony in November 2022 after Mr. Patel invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and refused to answer questions. The Justice Department reportedly sought Mr. Patel’s testimony in response to, among potentially other matters, Mr. Patel’s unsubstantiated public assertion that President Trump declassified documents prior to departing office at the end of his first term. The Special Counsel’s findings with regard to Mr. Patel’s related activities and statements remain unknown to the Committee and the public.
“The Committee cannot adequately fulfill its constitutional duty without reviewing details in the report of Mr. Patel’s testimony under oath, which is necessary to evaluate Mr. Patel’s truthfulness, trustworthiness, and regard for the protection of classified information. This is of utmost importance, as Mr. Patel has been nominated to hold one of the nation’s most important law enforcement positions, in which his core responsibilities, if confirmed, include seeking and telling the truth, maintaining the trust of Congress and the American people, and protecting our nation’s most sensitive information,” the Senators wrote.
The Senators continued, “The Committee is presently charged with undertaking one of its core constitutional and legislative functions: providing advice and consent on nominations by the President to positions of great responsibility in the U.S. federal government. The position of FBI Director bestows on its officeholder a solemn duty to be impartial, truthful, and trustworthy. In order to discharge their constitutional duty, the Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee must therefore be fully and accurately informed about Mr. Patel’s record.”
The letter closed by requesting that the Acting Attorney General comply promptly with these requests by February 10, 2025, in order for the Senate Judiciary Committee to review any relevant information prior to Mr. Patel’s confirmation vote. The Committee is prepared, as an accommodation, to accept in camera review of the materials. Given that the Justice Department has already dropped the charges against President Trump and is dropping the charges against the rest of the defendants in this matter, there is no basis to fear information in the report could prejudice the legal position of any party.
Along with Durbin and Schiff, today’s letter was signed by Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chris Coons (D-DE), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).
Full text of today’s letter is available here and below:
January 29, 2025
Dear Acting Attorney General McHenry:
As the Senate Judiciary Committee exercises its constitutional responsibility to provide advice and consent on the nomination by President Trump of Kashyap “Kash” Patel to serve as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), it is necessary for the Committee to evaluate Mr. Patel’s full record, including the veracity of his public and private statements and activities that pertain to the handling and protection of classified information. In this respect, the Committee requests urgent access to materials that have not yet been shared with the Committee and bear directly on Mr. Patel’s suitability to lead the nation’s premier law enforcement agency. Specifically, the Committee requests any and all sections of Volume Two of the “Final Report of the Special Counsel’s Investigations and Prosecutions,” submitted on January 7, 2025, by Special Counsel Jack Smith to the Attorney General, that refer or pertain to Mr. Patel’s testimony or actions.
According to public reports, federal prosecutors subpoenaed Mr. Patel to testify before a grand jury investigating President Trump’s retention of classified materials after leaving office and granted Mr. Patel immunity to facilitate his testimony in November 2022 after Mr. Patel invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and refused to answer questions. The Department reportedly sought Mr. Patel’s testimony in response to, among potentially other matters, Mr. Patel’s unsubstantiated public assertion that President Trump declassified documents prior to departing office at the end of his first term. The Special Counsel’s findings with regard to Mr. Patel’s related activities and statements remain unknown to the Committee and the public.
The Committee cannot adequately fulfill its constitutional duty without reviewing details in the report of Mr. Patel’s testimony under oath, which is necessary to evaluate Mr. Patel’s truthfulness, trustworthiness, and regard for the protection of classified information. This is of utmost importance, as Mr. Patel has been nominated to hold one of the nation’s most important law enforcement positions, in which his core responsibilities, if confirmed, include seeking and telling the truth, maintaining the trust of Congress and the American people, and protecting our nation’s most sensitive information.
The Committee is engaged in pertinent and urgent constitutionally mandated legislative activity that removes prior barriers to access to these materials. On January 23, 2025, the Committee issued a “Notice of Committee Nomination Hearing” for Mr. Patel, which is now scheduled for January 30, 2025. The Ranking Member of the Committee submitted on January 16, 2025, Questions for the Record (QFR) to Attorney General nominee Pamela Jo Bondi following her confirmation hearing, requesting that she commit to making Volume Two of the Special Counsel’s report available immediately for review to the Senate Judiciary Committee Chair, Ranking Member, or their designees.
This formal request preceded an order issued several days later by a judge in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida that enjoined the Department from releasing or otherwise making available a redacted version of Volume Two of the Special Counsel’s report to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. In the order, the judge erroneously stated that “[t]here is no record of an official request by members of Congress for in camera review of Volume II as proposed by the Department in this case,” despite the prior request which her order omits. The judge also concludes wrongly that the Department “identified no pending legislation on the subject or any legislative activity that could be aided, even indirectly, by dissemination of Volume II to the four specified members whom the Department believes should review Volume II now,” notwithstanding the Committee’s ongoing consideration of Mr. Patel and others’ nominations.
The Committee is presently charged with undertaking one of its core constitutional and legislative functions: providing advice and consent on nominations by the President to positions of great responsibility in the U.S. federal government. The position of FBI Director bestows on its officeholder a solemn duty to be impartial, truthful, and trustworthy. In order to discharge their constitutional duty, the Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee must therefore be fully and accurately informed about Mr. Patel’s record.
We request that you comply promptly with these requests by February 10, 2025, in order for the Senate Judiciary Committee to review any relevant information prior to Mr. Patel’s confirmation vote. The Committee is prepared, as an accommodation, to accept in camera review of the materials and urges the Department to seek immediately a court order, if the Department deems necessary, to comply with this request.
We look forward to your full and immediate compliance with these requests. Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter.
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