As Associated Press tells it, “the FBI took pains to note” that FBI Director Kash Patel was not on vacation when he visited Hawaii last summer. It highlighted his tour of the bureau’s Honolulu field office and his meetings with local law enforcement.
But the bureau said nothing about why he returned for a two-night stay a few days later. That was when Patel took his “VIP snorkel” around the sunken USS Arizona. “With few exceptions, snorkeling and diving are off-limits around the USS Arizona,” AP explained. That’s because the ship, having been bombed and sunk by Japan during World War II, is a military cemetery and one of our country’s most hallowed sites.
The AP found that some dignitaries, such as Navy admirals, secretaries of defense and interior have been invited to snorkel at the site in order to get a good look at the memorial and to better understand its operations. But not an FBI director or anyone else not connected to the memorial “because the swims come with physical risks and present security, safety and logistical challenges.”
AP could not determine how Patel’s snorkeling session was arranged. Nor would the FBI say what else Patel did during that two-day stay.
In other words, it’s pretty clear Patel once again used an FBI plane, paid for and fueled with taxpayer dollars, for a personal trip. This time, with an extra snorkeling perk he wrangled from somebody. Maybe with a bottle or bottles of his "Ka$h Patel" personalized bourbon.
Does anyone doubt there was plenty of boozing going on, too?
