So, in the 24 hours after when we were still looking for the guy, I know you posted that we got him. Uh, and that ended up not being true. You took some incoming because of that. What led to you posting that? Why did you feel so certain about it? And what do you have to say about the criticism? No, I appreciate this opportunity.

 Look, as I stated, I was being transparent with working with the public on our findings as I had them. I stated in that message that that we had a subject and uh that we were going to interview him and we did and he was released. The job of the FBI is not just to manhunt the actual suspect who did the killing or suspects, but it’s also to eliminate targets and eliminate subjects who are not involved in the process.

 And that’s what we were doing. Could I have worded it a little better in the heat of the moment? Sure. But do I regret putting it out? Absolutely not. I was telling the world what the FBI was doing as we were doing. And I’m continuing to do that. And I challenge anyone out there to find a director that has been more transparent and more willing to work the media on high-profile cases or any case the FBI is handling than we have been.

You’re watching the legal breakdown. Glenn, that was Cash Patel, the FBI director, being confronted about the fact that he wrongly identified initial suspects in the Kirk shooting and yet opted uh to break protocol and publish uh publicly about this stuff. Anyway, and you can see here that he basically doubles down and suggests that he doesn’t regret putting any of this out.

uh when he was asked about that he said absolutely not. So can I have your reaction to the fact that this seems to be uh the new the new protocol as far as the FBI is concerned. Brian Cash Patel is doubling down on his recklessness and incompetence. You know nobody can accuse him of learning from his mistakes.

 And you know this isn’t a simple mistake. This is a mistake that will, I promise you, come back to haunt the criminal prosecution of the actual shooter of Charlie Kirk. But first of all, let me just read what um Cash Patel posted that was dead wrong and that was not just reckless, but it was unlike anything any FBI director would ever post.

 you know, when an investigation is in its infancy, he actually posted, quote, “The subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody.” Period. Brian, let me share with our viewers how that will come back to haunt the criminal prosecution in the event there is a trial rather than a guilty plea in the future.

 There’s something called the thirdparty perpetrator defense. You know, particularly in violent crime cases, in murder cases. It is a defense that we see defense attorneys deploy pretty regularly. As its name suggests, the third party perpetrator defense. The defense will try to prove that it wasn’t their client who committed the crime of violence, the murder.

 It was a third-party perpetrator. Now, the the law says that you have to have a certain amount of evidence in order to support a third party perpetrator defense. You can’t just make it up out of thin air. What evidence will this defendant um have of a third party perpetrator defense? Well, the first witness that is likely to be called to the stand by the defense attorney is FBI Director Cash Patel.

 Let’s hope by the time this trial rolls round, he’ll be called as former FBI director Cash Patel, and he will be examined by the shooters attorney along the lines of, you know, uh, former director of the FBI, Mr. Patel. You posted that you had the shooter, the one and only shooter in custody, didn’t you? And Mr.

 Patel, that person was not my client, was it? And you would not have posted that if you didn’t have strong, definitive, conclusive evidence that you had the shooter in custody. Because if you did, it would be reckless and incompetent of you to do that, wouldn’t it? So, you know, Brian, I’m not suggesting that is a winning defense at a criminal trial, but it doesn’t have to be.

 All the defense attorney would have to do, courtesy of Cash Patel’s reckless post, that he had the shooter in custody. And mind you, you know, the jury is going to know that the shooter that he had in custody was not the person on trial. All he has to do is succeed in creating a little bit of doubt, reasonable doubt in the mind of one of the 12 jurors.

 And then what do you have? You have a hung jury and a mistrial courtesy of Cash Patel’s recklessness and incompetence. This is not a small mistake. This is a colossal bungle by Cash Patel. You know, he is going to justify all of this by saying what he said in this uh Fox and Friends clip which we just showed at the top of this video, which is I was being transparent.

 And so can you talk about this idea that that apparently is a novel idea in the FBI that transparency somehow is more important right now than just getting the facts straight in an institution where actually transparency has never really seemed to be a top priority for these people. It is it is actually just keeping everybody’s heads down, getting all the facts straight, and building up a case that is that is uh that’s going to be effective to prosecute once they actually get into court.

 Brian, I am a big fan of transparency in government. They say daylight is the best disinfectant and I believe that except during the pendency of a criminal investigation. You know, transparency is the enemy of an ongoing criminal investigation. Why? Because if you begin to put facts in the public square, first of all, you might be dead wrong.

 which takes us back to Cash Patel. But you know, also even if you’re right, what are you doing? You’re tipping people off. You are potentially putting witnesses in harm’s way. You are potentially encouraging the target of the investigation, the actual perpetrator, to destroy evidence, tamper with witnesses, flee to avoid prosecution.

 You know, transparency is anathema to a a competent criminal investigation. But, you know, in his zeal to try to deflect from his own colossal mistake and poor judgment and recklessness, he will say anything, even if it makes no damn sense to anybody who has any experience in conducting criminal investigations. Glenn, what do you presume that the agents who actually do have years of experience under their belt, what are they thinking in your opinion when they see this kind of stuff play out on a national stage where Cash Patel clearly is not qualified to be in

the job that he’s in right now? Um, and and that’s, by the way, not just coming from me. I’ve seen left uh right-wing pundits say the exact same thing while they’re watching this whole circus play itself out. But what do you think that the folks whose job it is uh to to continue to operate in a way that the FBI has operated for so long, these other law enforcement agencies to operate in a way that the law enforcement agencies operate watching this play out? You know, I think they would be laughing at Cash Patel if there was anything

funny about it. But when you compromise ongoing investigations and you actually breathe life into a defense that the actual killer would not have otherwise had available to him at trial, I have to believe that the special agents, the supervisory special agents, the uh agents in charge of various field offices around the country are effing appalled at the mockery he is making of the FB. FBI.

 And let’s remember, Brian, it was only about a week ago, if that, that um three of our most accomplished, experienced, and decorated FBI special agents and supervisors filed a lawsuit against Cash Patel because he allegedly um unlawfully fired them for political reasons. And Brian, if our viewers have read even the first few pages of that new lawsuit, they quote Cash Patel in the lawsuit as saying, “Look, guys, and I’m going to take liberties with the exact language.

Look, I know that this is a wrongful termination. I know it may be unlawful and I may be sued and deposed. However, if I am to keep my job, I have to do it because inferentially Donald Trump wants you all gone because you worked on matters that involved investigating his criminal activity.

 You know, I can’t wait for that suit to make its way into court. But here is what I’ll say about somebody who fires the people that he is supposed to be leading, supporting, and supervising because it might cost him cash Patel his job. You know, I had the good fortune, the honor, and the privilege to supervise to lead men and women in the Army, men and women at the Department of Justice when I was chief of homicide at the DC US Attorney’s Office.

 If I know anything about leading and supervising people, I probably learned it back in the army. And there are three rules, the three most important rules of supervising people. Support your people. Support your people. And support your people. It’s kind of the opposite of what Cash Patel did. He fired people admittedly unlawfully because he wanted to retain his job.

That is a special kind of evil when it comes to leadership and supervision. Glenn, are you surprised that somebody who who is used to kind of um uh performing for the public, this guy is a podcaster, that that that he’s taking what I think you and I would both assume are the wrong lessons, but imbuing kind of his strengths into a job where those strengths are actually weaknesses.

 is like can you just talk about this idea that we have a podcaster who’s basically doing podcasting as director of the FBI? Yeah. You know, again, it would be um it would be comedic if there was anything funny about it. But what he’s doing, Brian, is he is destroying the legitimacy of the FBI, particularly in the the view of the American people who have really come to expect the best of the FBI.

 We’re always talking about how the bureau is our nation’s preeminent law enforcement agency. And I can attest to the fact having worked with the men and women of the FBI putting RICO to cases together and trying them in federal court in Washington DC, you know, they are topnotch law enforcement agents who, in my experience, never brought even an ounce of politics into the work that they did.

 But Cash Patel is really destroying the reputation and the perceived legitimacy of the FBI. And you know there are people who are being wrongfully fired. There are people who are self- selecting you know saying listen I cannot work for this guy given what he is doing. The way he is tarnishing the reputation of the FBI the way he’s taking agents who should be out there making cases involving counterterrorism.

uh massive white collar nationwide fraud, sex trafficking of children, and he’s having them comb through the Epstein files, figurative figuratively putting, you know, little sticky notes every time Donald Trump’s name appears. That is not going to keep the American people safe. The only thing it might do is allow Donald Trump to continue his coverup.

 So, you know, it’s there there’s nothing funny about it. And I can only hope that when we write this American ship, which I do believe will happen someday, we can rebuild the legitimacy and then the reputation of the FBI. Well, look, we will stay on top of this because I’m certain, if nothing else, that this story isn’t going away.

 And Cash Mattel seems intent, hellbent even, on making himself the face of it, even when he continues to screw up and lose the confidence not just of the left, but the right in this country as well. So, we will stay on top of this issue. For those who are watching, if you want to follow along, please make sure to subscribe.

 The links to both of our channels are right here on the screen. It is the best way to support our work. It is completely free to subscribe and it’s a great way to support independent media. I’m Brian Taylor Cohen and I’m Glenn Kersner. You’re watching the Legal Breakdown. [Music]