Hi there, everyone. It's 4 o'clock in New York, a stark reminder that we do not live in normal times up on Capitol Hill today. And it would have just been a normal routine budget hearing. Questioning quickly focused in on the flurry of reported controversies, FBI director Cash Patel has created for himself.

Since we are not dealing with a normal or routine head of the nation's top law enforcement agency,

we want to show you the very first line of questioning Cash Patel face from Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen.

I really don't care about your personal life so long as you are able to perform your

public and official responsibilities, which are awesome responsibilities.

Multiple reports, including reporting by the Atlantic, have alleged episodes of excessive drinking,

unexplained absences, and behavior that concern current and former FBI DOJ officials.

You have publicly denied those allegations and filed a defamation lawsuit.

So today, as you testify before Congress, is it your testimony that those allegations

are categorically false? Unequivocally categorically false. So there have been no occasions during

your tenure when FBI personnel were unable to promptly reach you? Absolutely not. You can ask my

entire workforce. They hear from me at every single hour of the day, as do these great gentlemen here, as do the men and women of the interagency and state and local law enforcement in the White House. And so there have been no occasions when your security detail had difficulty waking or locating you. Is that right? Nope. It's a total force. I don't even know where you get this stuff, but it doesn't make it credible because you say so. I'm not saying it, Director Patel. It's been written and documented.

You are literally saying it. No, I'm saying that these are reports, Director Patel.

You running a $7,000 bar tab at the lobby bar has been filed by your own office.

This goes to show during the day. That's you. This is the ultimate example of hypocrisy.

I will not be tarnished by baseless allegations.

Let me ask the questions.

The fact that you mentioned that indicates you don't know what you are talking about.

Extraordinary,

extraordinary, even by today's Trumpian reorganizing of what's normal.

As a reminder of how the FBI would act under ordinary circumstances under normal times,

take a listen to Donald Trump's first director of the FBI, Jim Comey. He was on this program

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