Kash Patel buys a new fleet of luxury armored BMWs to be ‘less obvious’ when outside

need to know

• FBI Director Kash Patel has faced criticism for purchasing a new BMW SUV for his personal transportation.

• FBI personnel have historically been transported in Chevrolet Suburbans; However, Patel said he needed luxury vehicles to look “less obvious”.

• Patel has repeatedly made headlines for his use of government resources, including taking an FBI-owned jet to visit his girlfriend and reassigning SWAT members to serve as his security detail.

FBI Director Kash Patel is breaking with tradition by traveling in a luxury car instead of the department’s standard-issue SUV.

MS NOW reported on Monday, December 22 that 45-year-old Patel had pressured the FBI to buy him a special, armored BMW X5, which sources said made him “less conspicuous on his way out.”

While the State Department contracts similar vehicles to transport foreign dignitaries to high-risk environments around the world, FBI personnel have traditionally been driven in Chevrolet Suburbans.

FBI spokesman Ben Williamson confirmed the purchase of the X5s for Patel’s use, saying, “Government agencies, including the FBI, regularly evaluate, replace and update vehicle fleets based on use, security needs or budget decisions. The specific decisions mentioned in this article were evaluated in part as a way to save taxpayers millions by choosing a cheaper structure.”

The FBI, however, did not provide documents showing the cost of the new vehicle, prove that it was more cost-effective than using the Suburban’s pre-existing fleet, or explain why the new vehicle was needed. Public information about the fully armored X5 is not available online; However, Car and Driver noted that a similar Cadillac Escalade went for $350,000 in 2019.

BMW X5 Protection VR6’s website says the vehicle “provides protection not only against blunt instrument and handgun attacks, but also against the world’s most widely used weapon, the AK-47.”

Patel’s purchase of expensive new vehicles is the latest use of government funds. In October, he came under fire for traveling on an FBI-owned jet to watch his girlfriend, country music singer Alexis Wilkins, sing the national anthem at a Penn State University wrestling event.

The following month, MS NOW reported that the FBI director was using SWAT team members as a security detail for Wilkins. Normally, only pairs of high-ranking FBI officials receive security protection during joint travel.

Former FBI agent Christopher O’Leary, now a law enforcement contributor to MS NOW, said there was “no legal justification” for Patel displacing law enforcement personnel to protect Wilkins.

“This is a clear abuse of position and a misuse of government resources,” he continued, highlighting that Wilkins is “not [Patel’s] Spouse” and “do not live in the same house or in the same city.” Wilkins lives in Nashville, while Patel has a home in Las Vegas and often travels to Washington, D.C., for work.

MS NOW also reported that Patel’s request to purchase a new FBI jet earlier this year was “abandoned” by cost estimates of between $90 million and $115 million.

During a hearing in September, Vermont Sen. Peter Welch asked Patel about his personal travel, “By the way, every day FBI agents stationed in Washington don’t get to go home on a private jet.” In response, Patel pointed out that the Congress had made it “compulsory” for him to use private jets.

“Well, we haven’t made it mandatory that you go to UFC matches with Mel Gibson,” Welch replied, referring to the March MMA fight in Las Vegas that Patel participated in. In April, the FBI director traveled to New York for a charity hockey event, then returned to Washington, D.C. The next night, he returned to watch the New York Islanders play the Washington Capitals in a luxury box with Wayne Gretzky, according to CBS News.

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All this, despite the fact that Patel had previously been a vocal critic of the way his predecessor, Christopher Wray, traveled on an FBI jet. On the 2023 episode of his podcast corner of wishAccording to the Associated Press, Patel said he wants to “ground Chris Ray’s private jet travel that he pays for with taxpayer dollars,” according to the Associated Press.

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