‘I am not afraid of you!’: Senator Booker clashes with FBI Director Kash Patel over Trump’s MAGA agenda

Senator Cory Booker did not hold back during his fiery questioning of Patel, telling the FBI chief, “You don’t tell me my time is over!”

Sparks were flying during a hearing for the Senate Judiciary Committee between U.S. Senator Cory Booker, D-N.J., and FBI Director Kash Patel, which resulted in a testy shouting match.

“I am not afraid of you!” Booker yelled as he and Patel clashed during a Tuesday hearing on the FBI director’s leadership since being confirmed by the U.S. Senate in February.

Patel accused Booker of spreading “falsehoods” after the New Jersey senator pressed the FBI director over the terminations of top officials and career agents at the bureau, whom Booker and Democrats claim were politically targeted because they worked on criminal investigations involving President Donald Trump.

“I don’t believe you were truthful,” said Booker of Patel’s comments under oath during a previous Senate hearing, in which Patel said he was not aware of any plans by the Trump administration to seek political retribution against FBI officials or agents who worked on the federal investigations related to Trump’s role in the deadly Jan. 6 riots and the retaining of classified documents stored at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.

“Firing FBI employees based solely on the cases that they are investigating, their case assignments, is illegal, and you know that,” said Booker, who cited a lawsuit filed by three former FBI officials against the Trump administration that accuses Patel of carrying out President Trump’s “campaign of retribution” against FBI employees for “failure to demonstrate sufficient political loyalty.”

According to a federal lawsuit, Patel admitted that the termination of Brian Driscoll and others was “likely illegal” but had to be done because the Trump White House demanded it.

When Booker asked Patel what authority he had under the Constitution to fire Driscoll, Patel said, “That matter’s under litigation, and I’m not able to discuss it.”

Senator Booker also criticized Patel for diverting 20 percent of the FBI staff away from their cases to assist with ICE enforcement.

“Part of this operation is the work of mass law enforcement who jump out of cars, snatch people off streets, at churches, schools, and their jobs and hospitals,” said the New Jersey lawmaker.

Things took a turn when Booker asked Patel, “Have there been any FBI agents who investigate crimes against children that have been assigned to immigration enforcement?”

Patel took offense to the “premise” of the question, asserting, “You don’t get to say America is not safer under this leadership.”

The two men later engaged in a testy back-and-forth in which Booker told the FBI director, “I think you’re not going to be around long.”

“I think this might be your last oversight hearing, because as much as you supplicate yourself to the will of Donald Trump and not the Constitution of the United States of America, Donald Trump has shown us in his first term, and in this term, he is not loyal to people like you,” said Booker.

After the 10-minute exchange, Patel dismissed Booker’s line of questioning as a “rant of false information” that “does not bring this country together.”

Senator Booker, taking issue with Patel’s suggestion that he is divisive, responded, “I follow you on your social media posts that tear this country apart.”

As the two continued talking over each other, Patel repeatedly yelled out, “It’s my time!” Booker replied, “You don’t tell me my time is over!”

Booker’s time to question Patel ended soon after.