FBI chief Kash Patel told the U.S. Senate on Tuesday there was “no credible information” that Jeffrey Epstein trafficked women or underage girls to anyone but himself, as he defended the bureau’s decision to close its review.
Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Patel said investigative files on Epstein were limited because a U.S. attorney in Florida had improperly narrowed the scope of the original inquiry two decades ago.
“We have released all credible information,” he said.
The Justice Department’s July decision not to release further documents on Epstein angered many of President Donald Trump’s supporters, who expected new disclosures linking the financier to prominent figures.
Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Patel faced sharp questioning from senators, who also pressed him over his handling of the investigation into the recent assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and the firing of veteran FBI officials. Critics accused him of politicising the agency by aligning it closely with Trump, who has publicly defended Patel.
Senator Dick Durbin, the committee’s top Democrat, said Patel had “inflicted untold damage on the FBI,” citing his premature social media post that wrongly claimed a suspect in Kirk’s killing had been arrested. The actual suspect was not detained until a day later.
Patel rejected claims of political bias, highlighting what he said were increases in arrests for violent crime and illegal gun seizures under his leadership. He also dismissed criticism of his partnership with deputy director Dan Bongino, a former Secret Service agent and pro-Trump media figure. “I’m not going anywhere,” Patel told senators.
Two recently dismissed agents issued statements before the hearing condemning their removals, while three former senior officials filed a lawsuit alleging they were purged for being insufficiently loyal to Trump. Patel said those dismissed had “failed to meet the needs of the FBI and uphold their constitutional duties.”
The controversy underscores the political strains facing the FBI in Trump’s second term, as the bureau navigates pressure from both allies and critics over its independence and transparency.
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China has announced plans to fully cover childbirth-related costs for families as authorities move to incentivise young couples to have more children.
The Taliban leadership in Afghanistan opted out of a major regional meeting held in Iran’s capital Tehran on Sunday.
Australia vowed stricter gun laws on Monday as it began mourning victims of its worst mass shooting in almost 30 years, in which police accused a father-and-son duo of killing 16 people at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.
Oil prices are rising worldwide as investors assess supply risks linked to growing tensions between the United States and Venezuela after the former seized an oil tanker Skipper on 10 December, a move Caracas calls “international piracy”.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reiterated his offer to host Ukraine-Russia peace talks in Ankara, at his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The talks took place on the sidelines of the international Forum for Peace and Trust in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, on Friday (12 December).
Russia’s human rights commissioner, Tatyana Moskalkova, has said that Ukraine has not provided Moscow with a list of thousands of children it alleges were taken illegally to Russia, despite the issue being discussed during talks in Istanbul.
Iranian authorities have seized a foreign tanker carrying more than 6 million litres of smuggled fuel in the Sea of Oman, detaining all 18 crew members on board.
An explosive device found in a vehicle linked to one of the alleged attackers in Bondi shooting has been secured and removed according to Police. The incident left 12 people dead.
The latest round of clashes between Thailand and Cambodia has left 15 Thai soldiers dead and 270 others injured, Thailand’s Ministry of Defence spokesman Surasant Kongsiri said at a press conference on Saturday.
Oil prices are rising worldwide as investors assess supply risks linked to growing tensions between the United States and Venezuela after the former seized an oil tanker Skipper on 10 December, a move Caracas calls “international piracy”.
Syria has arrested five people suspected of having links to a deadly attack on a joint U.S.–Syrian convoy in the central town of Palmyra on Saturday, the country’s Interior Ministry said.
The head of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service, the foreign spy service known as MI6, has warned that Russia "remains an aggressive and expansionist threat", vowing sustained support for Ukraine and calling for greater use of technology to protect UK security.
Odesa residents remained without power for a third straight day on Monday (15 December) after a Russian missile and drone strike crippled the power grid on Saturday (13 December).
Fighting along the Thailand–Cambodia border has entered a fifth consecutive day, despite U.S. President Donald Trump claiming he had brokered a ceasefire between the two sides.
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