FBI Mocked MS NOW Over False Claim of Kash Patel in Russia

The FBI publicly mocked MS NOW after the broadcaster falsely claimed Director Kash Patel had touched down in Russia on Wednesday. Ken Dilanian, who covers justice and intelligence for the outlet, told host Peter Alexander that two sources confirmed Patel landed there for a surprise visit. We do not know what Kash Patel is doing in Russia, and that is one of the things that's concerning our FBI sources, Dilanian stated during the broadcast. They don't know either. The FBI is not saying anything about this. I just asked them for comment on our reporting. They have not gotten back to me.

Dilanian noted past reports suggesting Patel was set to travel to Russia this month. He claimed those reports indicated Patel would visit Moscow and St Petersburg. He also said Russia's security service, the FSB, obviously would try to surveil Patel should he have traveled there. The reporter added his FBI sources were concerned about the trip because they did not know what it was about. They're going to try to penetrate his devices, the correspondent continued. What kind of influences are going to be tried to be brought to bear on him, and what the purpose of this is?

Shortly after the report aired on TV, the FBI bashed the outlet for its error. An FBI-affiliated social media account posted images of the director speaking at a law enforcement appreciation event in Lynchburg, Virginia. Here's where Kash Patel actually is… Liberty U, doing a law enforcement appreciation event, the post read alongside the picture. MS Now's sources are familiar with NOTHING!

Patel was actually at that event in Lynchburg, Virginia on Wednesday, thousands of miles away from Russia. Roughly two and a half hours after initially reporting that Patel had touched down in Russia, Dilanian issued an on-air correction. He said he regretted the error and noted how the FBI never responded to his inquiry. I want to correct reporting from earlier today, the reporter told host MS NOW Alicia Menendez.

I reported that two sources had told us that FBI director Kash Patel had landed in Russia for a planned trip that had been reported about recently. We've since learned that Patel did not, in fact, land in Russia today and remains in the US. He added that the FBI did not answer his question about Patel's whereabouts. The error could further fray the already contentious relationship between the administration and MS NOW.

Last month, Trump announced that MS NOW, CNN and Politico were banned from White House grounds over allegations that they purposefully peddled fake news to harm the president and his team. This week, a federal judge blocked Trump's media ban, though the administration reportedly plans to appeal the ruling and continue blockading the outlets. Patel's fiancé, Alexis Wilkins, is currently suing MS NOW for allegedly using sham sources to peddle reckless false allegations about her. Dilanian is one of the MS NOW reporters named as a defendant in the suit.