Politico reports:

It’s never a good idea for the FBI director to wrongly suggest that a criminal suspect has been caught — but for Kash Patel, the moment was especially ill-timed.

On Wednesday evening, as the investigation into the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk unfolded in Utah, Patel bungled one of his first messages to the public. He prematurely seemed to declare that the shooter had been captured.

“The subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody,” Patel posted on X. Less than two hours later, he announced the person had been “released after an interrogation by law enforcement.” On Thursday afternoon, the search for a suspect was still ongoing.

Patel’s blunder came at a time when the embattled director was already under scrutiny from all sides of the political spectrum — and from many current and former agents in the bureau itself. Even though Patel was President Donald Trump’s hand-picked choice to lead the bureau, some MAGA influencers have quickly soured on him for his handling of the files of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Democrats and FBI veterans, meanwhile, have harshly criticized Patel for presiding over massive upheaval at the bureau: Respected senior agents have resigned or been fired, and many of those who remain have been subject to loyalty tests and hasty reassignments.

Now, Patel — a former podcast host whom many bureau veterans saw as too inexperienced for the job — must lead an agency in turmoil as it pursues the most high-profile investigation of his tenure so far.

Commentators on the far right immediately seized on Patel’s rushed suggestion that the shooter had been caught. [Continue reading…]