Donald Trump nominates loyalist Kash Patel as FBI director

US President-elect Donald Trump has nominated loyalist Kash Patel to lead the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, amid a series of controversial picks following his November victory.

“Kash is a brilliant lawyer, investigator, and ‘America First’ fighter who has spent his career exposing corruption, defending Justice, and protecting the American People,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social announcing the nomination.

The nomination comes to confirm earlier expectations that Trump would replace the FBI’s current director Christopher Wray, whom he had picked in 2017 but later turned against.

It was during Wray’s tenure that the FBI carried out a court-approved search at Trump‘s Mar-a-Lago estate in search of classified documents.

Who is Kash Patel?

The 44-year-old former federal public defender and former federal prosecutor first emerged as a controversial figure during Trump‘s first presidential term.

He worked as an aide to former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes. Patel during that stint was an integral part of leading the House Republican’s probe into the FBI’s 2016 investigation into contacts between Trump‘s 2016 campaign and Moscow.

He was also suspected of secretly serving as a back channel between Trump and Ukraine without authorization during the former president’s first impeachment trial, although he denies this.

That impeachment came over allegations that Trump had withheld aid from Ukraine to pressure Kyiv into probing Hunter Biden in an effort to boost his reelection chances against rival Joe Biden.

Even after Trump‘s presidential term ended, Patel remained within his orbit, being among several people the former president designated as a representative for access to his presidential records.

He was among the few former Trump administration officials who claimed without evidence that Trump had declassified all the records in question.

He has previously shared controversial views regarding the FBI, including calls for stripping the bureau of its intelligence-gathering role, as well as hunting down any of its employees who refuse to support Trump‘s agenda.

Patel also said he would be after all “conspirators,” including in the media.