Patel tells senators FBI hiring rule change protects trafficking victims

Kennedy says rule change ‘really hurt’ FBI reputation

FBI Director Kash Patel told a Senate oversight panel on Tuesday that his agency removed automatic disqualification for FBI applicants with a history of bestiality because he did not want to “punish victims of bestiality” who had been forced into the conduct by traffickers. The change, first reported by CBS News in August, drew bipartisan questioning during a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing at the US Capitol.

Senator John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican generally allied with President Donald Trump’s administration, told Patel the change “really hurt” the FBI’s reputation. “I’m trying to understand why you did this,” Kennedy said. “We’re having a tough time attracting agents, good quality agents we all can trust … why would you even get into bestiality?”

Patel said the change was recommended to him after he saw “cases” in which qualified FBI applicants had been denied consideration because they had been forced into bestiality as a result of human trafficking. “They showed me cases in which people were forced into it and had applied to the FBI, and so I thought: ‘They should be considered. It’s not an automatic disqualification.’ That’s all,” Patel said.

Kennedy responded by questioning the source of the recommendation. “I say this with respect to the person who recommended it, why didn’t you just say: ‘What planet did you parachute in from?’” Kennedy said.

At another point in the hearing, Kennedy asked Patel whether the change “disqualified the animal” from FBI service.

Senator Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, pressed Patel on who the rule actually covers. “You dropped automatic disqualification for applicants who have been engaged in bestiality, not victims of bestiality, applicants who have engaged,” Durbin said.

Patel responded: “Applicants who have engaged in bestiality means they were victims of bestiality because they were forced to do so.”

The rule change allows the FBI to consider candidates who hired a sex worker under specific circumstances, who stole from an employer under certain circumstances, and who engaged in bestiality or animal cruelty, so long as the incident took place before they were 18 years old.

The Guardian has contacted the FBI for data on how many applicants fall into the affected categories. It remains unclear how many applicants have been affected by the change.

Senate Democrats sent a letter to Patel on Monday requesting more information about the rule change and the applicants it covers.