As we’ve noted before, CBS News may be undergoing an editorial overhaul, but that doesn’t mean it’ll become Fox News. Slightly more fair at times? Sure, but this is not one of those cases. It’s a classic burying of the lede, and it’s rather atrocious. The FBI’s communications team was aggressively slapping down this story.
Based on the headline, you’d think FBI Director Kash Patel was gallivanting across Europe on the agency jet. He’s going to attend some of the hockey games for the Winter Olympics in Milan. Oh, the horror. Also, he’s not using the jet solely for that purpose (via CBS News) [emphasis mine]:
So the FBI director is REQUIRED to fly on agency planes.
— OC Scanner 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 (@OC_Scanner) February 20, 2026
And also CBS buried this important fact in the report: “As part of the trip, Patel is also scheduled to take part in meetings with law enforcement counterparts in Italy, one of the sources added.” Which is something the… https://t.co/HjGQwfXMPs
I literally gave this rag the Director’s almost entire official meeting schedule while in Italy and they still tweeted this garbage https://t.co/Tmo5r5ne0o
— Ben Williamson (@_WilliamsonBen) February 19, 2026
Kash just called me and told me to add “Please tell them yes, I am rooting for the greatest team on earth from the greatest country on earth. Go Team USA 🇺🇸.” cc: @CBSNews please add.
— Ben Williamson (@_WilliamsonBen) February 19, 2026
FBI Director Kash Patel, whose use of a government jet has frequently come under scrutiny, flew on a Justice Department plane Thursday to Italy with plans to attend the Olympic hockey medal rounds, according to public data and sources familiar with the matter.
Public flight data reviewed by CBS News showed the FBI director took off on a government plane Thursday morning for an Air Force base in Italy, after a brief flight from Manassas, Virginia, to Joint Base Andrews, in Maryland Wednesday.
Sources also confirmed to CBS News that Patel was en route to Milan, where he is planning to watch the Men's USA Olympic hockey team compete in the medal rounds. Patel separately sent several posts on social media on Thursday morning in support of the American hockey teams. Patel's plane landed in Italy Thursday evening, local time, according to a source at Flight Radar 24.
As part of the trip, Patel is also scheduled to take part in meetings with law enforcement counterparts in Italy, one of the sources added.
[…]
FBI directors are required to use government aircraft for air travel, whether official or personal, in order to ensure they maintain access to secure communications.
Okay, but the headline read as if this was some unscrupulous use of resources: ‘FBI Director Kash Patel takes agency jet to Italy, plans to attend Olympic hockey games, sources say.’
It’s a nothing burger. Some outlets were told Patel’s meeting schedule, and they still ran with this bit of fake news.
And these clowns wonder why we hate them and consider them enemies of the people.