FBI Director Kash Patel is urging mainstream media outlets to directly challenge his latest revelations about the origins of the Russian collusion narrative, following reports that labeled his disclosures as “false” and “misleading.”
Patel’s remarks come in the wake of the discovery of several “burn bags” at the FBI’s Washington, D.C. headquarters. The bags contained thousands of documents tied to the development of the Russia collusion claims. Typically, such bags are used for the destruction of classified or highly sensitive materials.
In a post on X Saturday, Kash Patel challenged mainstream media outlets to dispute the newly uncovered evidence, citing his past role as senior counsel for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence during President Trump’s first term.
“In 2017/18, I proved the Steele Dossier was fictitious intelligence, weaponized by corrupt FBI officials to deceive a federal judge and unlawfully spy on then presidential candidate Trump’s campaign — all paid for by his opponent,” Patel wrote. He then noted that at the time, the media called him a “liar.”
“Now I’m the FBI Director: We just uncovered burn bags/room filled with hidden Russia Gate files, including the Durham annex, and declassified them,” Patel continued. “Once again, I released the prior FBI’s own documents and exposed the truth. The same media is calling me a liar again.”
The director went on to suggest that more document releases are imminent, closing with a pointed jab at the mainstream media for its coverage of the Russia collusion narrative—coverage that earned Pulitzer Prizes for outlets like The New York Times despite ultimately being based on false information.
“Maybe this FBI will release more docs directly, from FBI HQ… so we can see who is lying — wouldn’t want to deprive the fake news of more bogus Pulitzers. And then…”
One of the recovered burn bags reportedly contained the classified annex to special counsel John Durham’s report, which concluded there was no evidence of Trump-Russia collusion and criticized the federal government’s decision to initiate the investigation.
According to Patel, the annex included underlying intelligence that appeared to support President Trump’s exoneration—raising concerns that the Biden-era FBI may have sought to destroy exculpatory evidence ahead of Trump’s return to office.
The annex is now in the process of being declassified through a coordinated effort by CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Patel, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and acting NSA Director William Hartman.
A redacted version of the recovered materials is expected to be submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee in the coming weeks.
