Overview
- Reporting tied an FBI-registered jet to trips that coincided with Alexis Wilkins’s Oct. 25 performance in State College and a subsequent flight to Nashville.
- FBI public affairs chief Ben Williamson defended Patel’s limited personal travel on X, while policy requires repayment at the equivalent coach fare for non-official use.
- Bloomberg Law reporting, cited by Benzinga, said Patel was outraged that public flight data drew coverage, and he removed Stephen Palmer, the veteran official overseeing the FBI aviation fleet.
- The Bulwark reported the FBI asked at least one flight-tracking site to stop displaying the jet’s movements and said public data later showed flights to Fort Lauderdale and back to Nashville; it noted Patel’s attendance at a Mar-a-Lago event was not established.
- Earlier CBS News reporting detailed additional personal destinations on government aircraft, and Sen. Peter Welch pressed Patel in September over private-jet access for top officials versus rank-and-file agents.