FBI Director Kash Patel, whose use of a government jet has frequently come under scrutiny, took the same plane on Thursday to fly to Italy with plans to attend the Olympic hockey medal rounds, according to public data and sources familiar with the matter.
Public flight data reviewed by CBS News showed the FBI Gulfstream jet that is customarily used by the FBI director took off on Thursday morning for an Air Force base in Italy, after a brief flight from Manassas, Virginia, to Joint Base Andrews, in Maryland Wednesday.
Sources also confirmed to CBS News that Patel was en route to Milan, where he is planning to watch the Men’s USA Olympic hockey team compete in the medal rounds. Patel separately sent several posts on social media on Thursday morning in support of the American hockey teams. Patel’s plane landed in Italy Thursday evening, local time, according to a source at Flight Radar 24.
As part of the trip, Patel is also scheduled to take part in meetings with law enforcement counterparts in Italy, one of the sources added.
An FBI spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
Congressional Democrats late last year launched a probe into Patel’s use of the government plane, after media reports revealed that he had used it for personal excursions ranging from a sporting event in Pennsylvania where his girlfriend was performing and a date night in Tennessee, to a Texas resort known as “Boondoggle Ranch.”
FBI directors are required to use government aircraft for air travel, whether official or personal, in order to ensure they maintain access to secure communications.
However, congressional Democrats have questioned whether Patel’s seemingly extensive use of the plane for personal trips crosses the line.
Patel was a fierce critic of his predecessor Chris Wray’s use of the plane, including when Wray would use it to fly to his vacation home in upstate New York.
Patel, who plays in a local hockey league in Virginia and previously coached youth hockey, has previously used the FBI plane to attend hockey games.
On April 5, the FBI jet took a 57-minute flight to Stewart International Airport, in New York, where Patel made an appearance at a charity hockey event hosted by the FBI.
The next day, the jet was back in the air to JFK Airport, landing just hours before Patel resurfaced in box seats next to hockey legend Wayne Gretzky and watched Capitals star Alex Ovechkin break the NHL scoring record.
