For the second time this year, FBI Director Kash Patel has stepped forward to correct claims about a MAGA conspiracy theory he once played a key role in promoting.
For the second time this year, he could be fighting a losing battle.
Months ago, it was Patel’s sudden move to downplay the Jeffrey Epstein files. As a right-wing commentator, he had played up a massive supposed conspiracy that suggested the government was hiding others who were involved in Epstein’s crimes, saying at one point, “Put on your big boy pants, and let us know who the pedophiles are.”
But in May, as FBI director, he suddenly said the evidence showed there was nothing explosive in the files, angering the MAGA movement.
We got something of a repeat this weekend after conservative media and President Donald Trump seized on leaked information that said 274 FBI agents were dispatched amid the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
They promptly butchered the information, though.
Continue Reading on CNN
This preview shows approximately 15% of the article. Read the full story on the publisher's website to support quality journalism.