Jeffrey Epstein case dominates Kash Patel House hearing as FBI director insists ‘I don’t give a damn’ about criticism

WASHINGTON — The Jeffrey Epstein scandal was the main topic of a second day of congressional testimony Wednesday by FBI Director Kash Patel — this time before the House Judiciary Committee, where Patel told critics “I don’t give a damn” about their attacks after repeated allegations of a cover-up.

Patel presented himself as a champion of transparency — as Democratic panelists and libertarian Rep. Thomas Mass (R-Ky.) pressed for further disclosures.

Massie, who recently co-hosted an event with Epstein victims, sensationally alleged that those victims claimed the FBI in 2019 was given a list of 20 powerful men who allegedly victimized young women and girls as part of the late pedophile’s sex-trafficking operation.

“These documents in FBI possession, your possession, detail at least 20 men, including Mr. Jes Staley, CEO of Barclays Bank, who Jeffrey Epstein trafficked victims to — victims including minors such as Virginia Roberts Giuffre, may she rest in peace,” Massie said.

“That list also includes at least 19 other individuals: one Hollywood producer worth a few hundred million dollars, one royal prince, one high-profile individual in the music industry, one very prominent banker, one high-profile government official, one high-profile former politician, one owner of a car company in Italy, one rock star, one magician, [and] at least six billionaires, including a billionaire from Canada.”

Massie continued: “We know these people exist in the FBI files, the files that you control… Have you launched any investigations into any of these people? And have you seen these … documents?”

The FBI director repeatedly indicated — as delicately as possible — he did not find the claims credible.

Patel said that prosecutors over multiple administrations had “investigated those same materials” and that the bureau was “not in the habit of releasing in-credible information.”

Barclays did not immediately respond to a request for comment by The Post.

Patel told senators Tuesday there was “no credible information, none” that Epstein trafficked any of his more than 1,000 victims to other men. He noted Wednesday, however, that there is no federal statute of limitations for underage sex trafficking.

In another exchange with Massie, Patel said he was willing to look at a CIA file on Epstein “if there is such a file, and if it has not already been turned over to the FBI.”

Senior Trump administration officials and former high-ranking US officials — including Attorney General Pam Bondi and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard — have side-stepped questions about whether the disgraced financier, who died in August 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges, worked for or with global intelligence agencies.

President Trump has declared continued interest in the case to be part of a Democratic “hoax” seeking to distract the public with endless innuendo about his prior association with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s, before the pervert’s first criminal conviction in 2008.

Other prominent former Epstein associates include Prince Andrew, former President Bill Clinton, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, recently fired British ambassador Peter Mandelson, Victoria’s Secret billionaire Les Wexner and former Harvard president and Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, among many others.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) shouted across the hearing room Wednesday that even members of the Judiciary Committee may have partook in Epstein’s sex trafficking, though none have been publicly accused.

“Would you meet with the women who were sexually abused and raped and groomed at the ages of 14 and 16 years old?” Jayapal bellowed.

“Are you going to continue to cover up for the rich and powerful men, including those that might be on this committee?”

“Will you allow them to testify to you, Mr. Patel?” Jayapal screeched as committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) banged his gavel, ending her questioning.

Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), speaking immediately after Jayapal, argued that Democrats were not sincerely interested in the Epstein case and “didn’t mention it at all” until seeing the potential political value against Trump.

Patel, who took questions for five hours without a break, bristled at accusations that he was involved in a cover-up.

“Any allegations that I’m a part of the cover-up to protect child sexual trafficking and victims of human trafficking and sexual crimes is patently and categorically false,” Patel told Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), maintaining the FBI released all files that courts currently allow.

The FBI director largely ignored a blistering opening statement from top-ranking committee Democrat, Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, who mocked Patel’s children’s book, accused him of using “henchmen” to politicize the bureau and claimed he was covering up Epstein files.

“We’ve learned how dangerous it is to name as director of the FBI a man who thinks of himself as a fairy tale knight who keeps a fire breathing dragon named ‘DOJ’ at home to forcibly drive villains out of the kingdom,” Raskin jabbed.

“When Charlie Kirk was assassinated, while his killer was still on the loose, you decided you didn’t need to be at FBI Headquarters in Washington to work with your team while the chaotic manhunt unfolded. You spent your evening dining in a swanky Midtown Manhattan restaurant and tweeting out false information that the subject of the shooting was in custody, a statement you had to retract one hour later.”

Raskin continued: “You’ve assembled a roving band of freelancing henchmen within your office and charge them with conducting unauthorized investigations, targeting and harassing career FBI employees.”

Turning to the Epstein case, Raskin asked: “How did you go from being a crusader for accountability and transparency for the Epstein files to being a part of the conspiracy and cover-up? The answer is simple, you said it yourself: Because of who’s on that list.”.

Kirk’s assassination on Sept. 10 got relatively little focus compared to the Epstein case, with Democrats successfully eliciting from Patel an acknowledgement that both left-wing and right-wing radicals partake in violence.

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) botched the conservative activist’s name while invoking his pro-free-speech advocacy.

“Politicizing the murder of Charlie King to go after free speech is not a legacy I believe Charlie King would have wanted,” the retiring Manhattan Democrat said.

Patel used his own time to tout nationwide declines in crime and to warn that terrorists could be crossing the US-Canada border now that illegal crossings have plummeted from Mexico.

“The enemy has adapted, and we need more focus on the northern border to stop known or suspected terrorists from coming in from places like China, Russia, the Middle East, Africa, Afghanistan,” said Patel, who brushed off criticsm from Democrats.

“I don’t give a damn what they say about me as long as I’m succeeding in the mission… all I care about is that we are capturing more child predators than ever before, taking more drugs off the streets than ever before, that we are capturing murderers at a significantly historic rate, and we’re delivering this country the lowest murder rate in recorded history,” he said.

“[Those] are facts that you cannot dispute, and you can come at me all you want. I don’t care.”