FBI Director Kash Patel is unfazed by new controversy over his past trips, where he allegedly mixed FBI money with work and pleasure. A new report says that while on a work trip in the South Pacific last summer, Patel stopped in Hawaii and took a “VIP snorkel” at one of the military’s most mysterious sites: the underwater tomb of the USS Arizona, which contains the remains of more than 900 Navy sailors from the attack on Pearl Harbor.According to Navy records, Patel swam near the grave for 30 minutes. There were nine people snorkeling with Patel.VIP tours are common around Arizona, but there are no public records of how many VIP snorkels are allowed. They were also told not to touch the wreck in any way.The FBI said senior regional commanders received Patel at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam “as they typically do with U.S. government officials when traveling on official business.” The spokesman said the trip to Pearl Harbor “was part of the director’s public national security activities last August with counterparts in New Zealand, Australia, the Honolulu Field Office and the Department of the Army.”“It’s like having a bachelor’s party at a church. It’s sacred ground,” Marine Corps veteran Huck Albertson told AP News. “It needs to be taken with the seriousness it deserves.”Another private trip reportedly saw Patel traveling to Philadelphia with girlfriend Alexis Wilkins to attend a country music concert. They arrived on a Gulfstream V government plane and were found living in a private suite that rented for more than $35,000. They watched the show in a private suite. The New York Times reported that FBI spokesman Ben Williamson said Winkins was an invited guest at the event.Patel appears unfazed by a series of controversies and rumors that he has upset President Trump. The FBI director released news of the agency’s success in bringing Iraqi terrorist Mohammad Bakr Saad Daoud al-Saadi to the United States to face trial.
