Emails show Kash Patel working trip to Hawaii included 'VIP Snorkel'

When Kash Patel visited hawaii island endure summertime, the FBI took pains to observe the theatre director was not on vacation, highlighting his walking tour of the bureau's Honolulu field office and meetings with local law enforcement.

Left out of the FBI news releases was an exclusive excursion that Patel took days later, when he participated in what government officials described as a "VIP snorkel" around the USS Arizona in an outing co-ordinated by the military. The sunken battleship entombs more than 900 sailors and marines at Pearl Harbor.

With few exceptions, snorkeling and diving are off-limits around the USS Arizona. The battleship, now a military cemetery reachable only by boat, has stood as one of the country's most hallowed sites since Japan bombed and sank it in 1941. Marine archaeologists and crews from the National Park Service make occasional dives at the memorial to survey the condition of the wreck. Other dives have been conducted to inter the remains of Arizona survivors who wanted to rest eternally with their former shipmates.

Patel's swim, revealed in government emails obtained by The Associated Press, comes to light amid criticism over his use of the FBI plane and his global travel, which has blended professional responsibilities with leisure activities. The FBI did not disclose the snorkeling session or that Patel had returned to Hawaii for two days after his initial stopover on the island.

FBI Director Kash Patel grilled about drinking, spending by committee

"It fits a pattern of Director Patel getting tangled up in unseemly distractions — this time at a site commemorating the second-deadliest attack in U.S. History — instead of staying laser-focused on keeping Americans safe," said Stacey Young, who founded Justice Connection, a network of former federal prosecutors and agents who advocate for the Department of Justice's independence.

Since at least the Obama administration, the navy and the park service have quietly allowed a handful of dignitaries, including military and government officials responsible for management of the memorial, to swim at the site. The navy and park service declined to provide details of those permitted to take such excursions.

Former FBI directors have visited Pearl Harbor on official business, but none going back to at least 1993 has gone snorkeling at the memorial, according to those familiar with their activities and a former government diver who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. The diver said it was unusual for a director, or anyone not connected to the memorial, to be granted such access because the swims come with physical risks and present security, safety and logistical challenges.

Patel has faced scrutiny over his leadership for the past year, with his use of government resources emerging as a recurring storyline of his tenure. The issue flared in February when video surfaced of Patel partying in the locker room  with members of the U.S. Men's hockey team after their gold medal win at the Winter Olympics in Milan.  Patel defended the trip as recently as this week as "purposely planned" in connection with a cybercrime investigation involving the Italian authorities.

Patel's excursion was in August, as he spent two days in Hawaii on his return to the United States from official visits to Australia and New Zealand. On his way to those countries, he stopped in Hawaii to visit the Honolulu field office. An FBI spokesman did not answer questions about the snorkeling session.

The FBI said in a statement that top regional commanders hosted Patel at Joint Base Harbor-Hickam "as they commonly do with U.S. Government officials on official travel." The Pearl Harbor visit, the spokesman said, "was part of the Director's public national security engagements last August with counterparts in New Zealand, Australia, our Honolulu Field Office and the Department of War."

It was not clear how Patel's snorkeling session was arranged. A navy spokesperson, Capt. Jodie Cornell, confirmed the outing but said the service was not able to track down who initiated it.

Participants in Patel's swim were told "not to touch/come into contact with" the sunken ship in any way, Cornell said. She added that the snorkelers were also briefed about "the historic significance of the memorial as the final resting place/tomb for hundreds of service members."

Government emails obtained by the The Associated Press through a public records request show military officials coordinated logistics and personnel for the "VIP Snorkel."

The National Park Service, which administers the site in co-ordination with the navy, told The Associated Press it was not involved in Patel's swim and declined to comment on the excursion. It also declined to answer questions about any other such outings.

Among those invited to snorkel have been navy admirals, secretaries of defence and interior, according to the former government diver. The diver added that the swims were intended to provide officials insights into the memorial and its operations.

The navy declined to provide examples or numbers showing how frequently it organizes such excursions. It described Patel's outing as "not an anomaly."

Hack Albertson, a marine veteran, is part of a select group from the Paralyzed Veterans of America trained to dive on the Arizona annually to check on the condition of the wreck. He said it was inappropriate for Patel and other political figures to snorkel or dive at the memorial.

"It's like having a bachelor party at a church. It's hallowed ground," he said. "It needs to be treated with the solemnity it deserves."

Beyond the snorkeling excursion, it is not clear what else Patel did during his second stop in Hawaii.

---

---