Concerned About Image, Kash Patel Ordered Staff To Rebut Trolls

Photo: CNN screengrab

India-West News Desk

WASHINGTON, DC – FBI Director Kash Patel, whose $250 million lawsuit against ‘The Atlantic’ over reports of erratic behavior and alcohol intake is still ongoing, has found his tenure persistently overshadowed by accusations of self-absorption, public missteps, and a heavy fixation on his personal image.

The latest report comes after the FBI released internal documents on September 10 under a transparency initiative, revealing how the agency head pressed his public relations staff to battle online trolls disparaging him on social media.

The newly disclosed text messages from February highlight an exchange between Patel and Ben Williamson, the FBI’s assistant director for public affairs, after Patel flagged a post from a troll account that mocked him directly, calling him a ‘retard.’ Patel sent the link to Williamson and demanded that the agency’s official communications arm counter such criticism, writing, “What I asked you and your team to do is find them, and post our record year results back at them all, continuously.”

Williamson pushed back against the directive, explaining that the post was generated by a bot account spouting Jeffrey Epstein conspiracy theory and had only drawn about 400 actual replies. Warning his boss about the optics of engaging with a low-tier troll, Williamson advised, “That would look bad on you.”

Patel, however, remained focused on the metric of online reach and insisted that the FBI push its statistics to the public, maintaining that “people see it and need to be seeing our stats.” This exchange occurred while the bureau was already facing mounting heat over missing documents in the Epstein files.

The Telegraph pointed out in its report that Patel’s impulse has been to manage optics in real time during high-profile cases. Following the murder of Charlie Kirk, Patel prematurely declared on social media that a suspect was in custody hours before the claim fell apart. He made a similar misstep in December 2025 by publicly announcing the detention of a person of interest in the Brown University shooting, only for the individual to be released hours later.

Patel’s sensitivity to public criticism stands in sharp contrast to his past rhetoric. On a 2023 podcast episode, he railed against former FBI chief Christopher Wray, stating he wanted to “ground Chris Wray’s private jet travel that he pays for with taxpayer dollars to hop around the country.” Yet records revealed he was using taxpayer-funded jets to attend concerts performed by his girlfriend, a country music singer.