FBI officials 'livid' after Kash Patel risked 'tragic results' by leaking hostage rescue

Senate Democrats demanded answers after a whistleblower came forward with allegations that Kash Patel, President Donald Trump's nominee for FBI director, leaked details about a hostage rescue mission.

In a letter obtained by CBS News, Senate Democrats asked Acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Acting Treasury Secretary David Lebryk, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to turn over records of communications between Patel and the FBI's Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, the government's hostage rescue team.

According to the letter, Patel "broke protocol regarding hostage rescues by publicly commenting without authorization on the then-in-progress retrieval of two Americans held captive by Iranian-backed militants in Yemen in October 2020."

Patel confirmed details of the rescue to The Wall Street Journal in a report published "several hours before the hostages were in the confirmed custody of the United States," the letter said.

"In the end the Americans returned home safely, but FBI officials involved in the mission were livid over Patel's leak, which they regarded as reckless and potentially risking tragic results," the CBS report explained.

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Senate Democrats withheld the identity of the whistleblower for fear of retaliation. No Republican senators signed the letter.

"The Durbin letter offers a glimpse into the Democratic strategy for Thursday's confirmation hearing. Knowledgeable sources tell CBS News that senators will seek to show that Patel has engaged in a pattern of poor judgment and self-aggrandizement regarding sensitive life-and-death missions and use that portrayal to cast doubt on his fitness to lead the FBI," the report added.