Keystone Kash Melts Down at His Italian Boondoggle Being Busted
The leaked itinerary of the highly publicized trip reportedly “jeopardizes security.”

The Daily Beast/Getty/X
FBI Director Kash Patel is quite unhappy that details of his taxpayer‑funded trip to the Winter Olympics were leaked.
After The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Patel spent only “several hours” in total at official events during his trip to Milan, Italy—despite his team insisting the visit was for official bureau business—the FBI director’s spokesman pushed back against the revelation.
“The leaking of his minute-by-minute schedule is a criminal act that jeopardizes security and will not be taken lightly,” FBI spokesperon, Ben Williamson, told The Times in a follow up statement Wednesday morning.
In response to a request for comment, an FBI spokesperson told the Daily Beast that Patel’s leaked schedule was “not a public document/itinerary.”
Williamson has been defensive on Patel’s behalf since the trip was first reported on. Last week, Williamson accussed CBS News of publishing a story that was “designed to mislead,” regarding its reporting that Patel was flying to Italy to attend the Olympics.
Get the best of The Beast delivered right to your inbox
By clicking “SUBSCRIBE” you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
In an effort to combat that narrative, Williamson himself posted numerous photos of Patel during his Italian work meetings—outlined in the itinerary published by the Times.
The itinerary leaked to the outlet was labeled “unclassified,” meaning it was a non-secret document that listed the start and end times of Patel’s official meetings during his trip.
The leaked itinerary showed that Patel spent nearly six and a half hours watching two hockey games. Numerous videos and photos show that Patel was chugging beer with Team USA after they defeated Canada in a frat-style party that since been criticized. Williamson maintained that the trip was focused on “highly productive meetings.”
Patel’s schedule shows he attended six public meetings and two classified briefings during the trip, but The Times report indicates that the time he spent at official events was less “productive” than his spokesperson claims.

Patel reportedly spent most of his weekend on leisure time.
Elsa/Elsa/Getty Images
After arriving in Italy on Thursday, Patel’s weekend in Europe included a single 20-minute briefing with the Olympic security team—held on the second-to-last day of the Games, weeks after operations had begun—and a visit to the operations center scheduled to last 30 minutes.
On Saturday, the FBI director had roughly four and a half hours of leisure time, and on Sunday, he attended the USA–Canada hockey gold-medal game before flying back to the United States. Critics noted that the bureau was contending with the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, a gunman breaching Mar-a-Lago, and the Mexican government killing the leader of a top cartel during Patel’s Italian trip.

Patel's trip to Italy coincided with the continued FBI investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie.
NBC/Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty I
Following backlash over Patel’s drinking video with the U.S. men’s hockey team, Patel posted a message on X to “the very concerned media,” claiming that he loves America and was “extremely humbled” to be invited “into the locker room to celebrate this historic moment with the boys.”
Patel also posted numerous photos attending the event.
According to MS NOW, the video caused “outrage” not only in the media, but also amongst FBI and Justice Department officials.
Patel, who has made a habit of criticizing his predecessors for taxpayer-funded travel, has previously faced scrutiny over his own use of private jets, particularly when traveling to visit his 27-year-old country musician girlfriend, Alexis Wilkins.

Kash Patel on X
On Tuesday, Democratic Sen. Richard Durbin sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office and the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General outlining concerns that the frequent use of federally funded private jets may have delayed the FBI’s response to high-profile investigations.
The letter claimed that whistleblowers have highlighted to Sen. Durbin that not only are “the Director’s misuse and mismanagement of these aircraft problematic to taxpayers, they materially harm the mission of the very agency he has sworn to lead.”
Unlock a year of full access to The Looker and The Daily Beast for $35.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Looker and The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.
Sign in
Login dialog




ADVERTISEMENT
Sign in or create an account
Login dialog
Loading comments…
ADVERTISEMENT