Kash Patel’s latest FBI video looks quite a bit like an election-season ad

The FBI, under Director Kash Patel, put out a two-minute social media video this week that critics say works like a campaign commercial. MS NOW commentator Steve Benen notes that it names a number of Democrats, among them Abdul El-Sayed, the party's nominee in a closely watched Michigan Senate contest. The clip attacks "democratic socialist leaders" over calls to defund the police and brands progressive approaches to criminal justice a total failure, a view that matches Republican messaging but lacks solid evidence behind it. It also praises Patel openly.

The timing drew notice, since it appeared just as early voting began opening in several states. The New Republic called the video highly partisan and probably unlawful. Federal law bars spending public resources on propaganda, and the Government Accountability Office has said that restriction reaches communications that are purely partisan or meant to help a party or candidates. Benen suggests the Senate Judiciary Committee would likely look into whether the video crosses that line should Democrats hold a majority in the next Congress.

Benen places the episode among a run of Trump administration officials who have turned to self-promotion, including Sean Duffy's family reality series, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'

Summarized by PolitiKool from MS NOW’s reporting. Read the full story at MS NOW →