NEWSCNN's Jake Tapper Tears Into Kash Patel for Partying With Olympic Team
CNN's Jake Tapper took FBI Director Kash Patel to task over his Olympic partying.
Feb. 24 2026, Published 4:50 p.m. ET
CNN anchor Jake Tapper excoriated FBI Director Kash Patel for partying with Olympians on the taxpayers' dime in a now-viral video clip that has drawn outrage on both sides of the aisle.
Patel was seen drinking beer and celebrating with members of the U.S. men’s hockey team in the locker room after they defeated Canada to win the gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy.
“Believe it or not, that’s your FBI Director Kash Patel,” Tapper said on a Monday, February 21, broadcast of CNN’s The Lead.
Jake Tapper Questioned Propriety of an FBI Director 'Pounding Beers' With Hockey Team
FBI Director Kash Patel chugged beers in the U.S. Men's Hockey team locker room after their win against Canada.
“It was an incredible win that all Americans can celebrate. Now, why exactly the FBI director — who you might think would be busy with all sorts of things — why he’s in the locker room in Italy, seemingly pounding beers along with the team? Well, you can be forgiven if you’re asking that question," said Tapper, who has faced criticism for calling out the health issues of former President Joe Biden while ignoring those of President Donald Trump.
Ben Williamson, the FBI Assistant Director for Public Affairs, defended Patel’s use of an agency jet to travel to Italy for the Winter Olympics after MS NOW correspondent Ken Dilanian questioned the spokesman's earlier statements that his boss was there for official work.
The Government Accountability Office estimates that flying the FBI’s private jet costs at least $5,000 per hour or, around $75,000 for the trip.
FBI Insisted Kash Patel Was on a 'Planned' Work Trip
MS NOW's Ken Dilanian shared a previous post by the FBI spokesperson alongside a viral video that challenged his original claims.
“No, it’s not a personal trip,” Williamson wrote in an X post last week responding to a CBS News report. “Director Patel is on a trip that was planned months ago. It includes: partner meetings with Italian law enforcement and security officials (they invited the Director last July), meeting with Ambassador Fertitta (as a follow up to our law enforcement roundtable he hosted in January), meetings with Legat staff, and more.”
Tapper also played a 2023 clip of Patel criticizing his predecessor, Christopher A. Wray, for using FBI planes at taxpayers’ expense. In the video, Patel said, “Chris Wray doesn’t need a government-funded G5 jet to go to vacation. Maybe we ground that plane. $15,000 every time it takes off. Just a thought.”
It's Not About Kash Patel's Patriotism, 'It's About His Judgement'
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FBI Director Kash Patel pointed to patriotism as his reasoning for partying with the hockey team.
In response to backlash, Patel ignored his hypocrisy and offered no apologies for his partying.
“For the very concerned media — yes, I love America and was extremely humbled when my friends, the newly minted Gold Medal winners on Team USA, invited me into the locker room to celebrate this historic moment with the boys,” Patel wrote on X Sunday, February 22. “Greatest country on earth and greatest sport on earth.”
Tapper wasn’t buying Patel’s professed patriotism and pivoted to the more serious claims of his indiscretions.
“Of course, the issue is not whether or not Kash Patel loves America,” he said. “It’s about his judgment and whether or not he’s embarrassing the Bureau, and the perks he grabs and the seriousness with which he treats his job.”
Jake Tapper Called Kash Patel's Locker Room Bachannal 'Shocking'
Jake Tapper was appalled by the visuals of FBI Director Kash Patel at the Olympics.
“And one would think the FBI is pretty busy these days, with lots of things going on,” he added.
Patel previously insisted that the FBI has been busy pulling out all the stops to find 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, the mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie.
A security breach at Mar-A-Lago over the weekend ended in the death of a MAGA gunman who was reportedly obsessed with the POTUS' handling of the Epstein files.
“I just can’t imagine being somebody in, let’s say, a missing person’s case, thinking that the FBI could be doing a better job, should be doing a better job, and looking up and seeing that image — just shocking,” the CNN anchor admitted.
