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By ERIC TUCKER, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — When the American men’s hockey team retreated to their locker room to celebrate their Winter Olympics gold medal win, they were joined by a special guest from the United States: FBI Director Kash Patel.
For some supporters of the embattled law enforcement official, it was a patriotic, good-natured show of support for a team bringing home the first gold medal in the sport since 1980. For Patel’s critics, though, it was yet another questionable use of government resources by an FBI chief already facing scrutiny over his personal travels aboard a government plane.
An FBI spokesman had said in the days leading up to the game that Patel’s trip to Milan during the Olympics was primarily for professional purposes, with the director posting on social media work-related photographs of his meetings with European security officials. But the trip took a more jocular turn Sunday when videos circulating online showed a pumped-up Patel, a hockey fan, drinking beer from a bottle and spraying the rest around the locker room. After one of the players draped his gold medal around Patel’s neck, he joined the players as they jumped up and down in celebration.
The episode deepened questions about Patel’s personal travels, a persistent storyline from the f...
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