Andrew McCabe calls Patel’s rationale "not entirely believable"
Former FBI Deputy Director; CNN senior law enforcement analyst
“In 21 years in the FBI, this issue never came up... the fact that the director is using this as a way to kind of soften the blow... is not entirely believable in my estimation. The idea that the FBI director would put his own credibility and judgment on the line over something as esoteric and irrelevant as protecting victims of bestiality who might happen to want to work for the FBI is really unconscionable to me.”
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
Same-day broadcast transcript containing verbatim video-clip transcriptions of the hearing exchange plus a full on-air interview with Andrew McCabe. Marked by CNN as a rush transcript that "may not be in its final form."
Before the quotation
Speaking on CNN’s Inside Politics the same day as the hearing, as a former FBI Deputy Director and CNN senior law enforcement analyst.
After the quotation
McCabe added that this kind of self-inflicted controversy is "not something that past FBI directors want to encourage."
How this statement is classified
Case context: Kash Patel defends FBI’s removal of automatic hiring disqualifiers for bestiality, prostitution, and employee theft
The label describes this statement’s response within the context above.
Why this label?
McCabe directly denounces Patel’s rationale as not credible and the episode as "unconscionable," an express criticism of Patel’s defense of the policy.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Kash Patel, Federal Bureau of Investigation

Kash Patel defends FBI’s removal of automatic hiring disqualifiers for bestiality, prostitution, and employee theft
Explore the case context, sources and public responses.
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