The Director of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) allegedly used the FBI's shared jet for personal reasons to go on a date with his girlfriend.
On the 2nd (local time), Bloomberg Law, a legal news outlet under Bloomberg, reported that Stephen Farmer, the official overseeing the agency's fleet of aircraft, was dismissed. The move came as local media criticized FBI Director Kash Patel, 45, for improperly using a shared jet.
The aircraft registered with the Department of Justice departed from an airport in Virginia on the 25th of last month, stopped in State College, Pennsylvania, and then headed to Nashville, Tennessee, according to records. A professional wrestling event was held in State College, and Patel's partner, country singer Alexis Wilkins, 26, sang the national anthem at the event. Wilkins also posted a photo with Patel on her X (formerly Twitter).
Nashville, the jet's final destination, is the city where Wilkins lives and is known as the center of country music. The flight path was originally available on the flight-tracking site FlightAware, but the tracking information was blocked after the controversy flared.
According to local reports, Patel was enraged by the critical coverage, and afterward Farmer reportedly told people around him that he might resign or be dismissed. With Patel taking personnel action directly, criticism has emerged within the FBI that the move weakened the organization's professionalism.
Farmer joined the FBI in 1998 and is a veteran agent with 27 years of service who has led the FBI's Critical Incident Response Group (CIRG). The unit is a core organization responsible for hostage rescue, counterterrorism, security for large-scale events, and special tactics operations. Patel, who took office as FBI director in Feb. this year with the confidence of former President Donald Trump, dismissed three CIRG executives in succession, including Farmer.
On the 2nd, Patel posted a statement on his X account saying he would "not be deterred by baseless rumors or the noise emanating from internet anarchists who don't know what they're talking about."