Trump's FBI pick Kash Patel hints at releasing releasing Epstein, Diddy lists

Incoming United States (US) president Donald Trump said on Saturday (Nov. 30) that he would appoint Kash Patel as the director of the Federal Bureau of Intelligence (FBI).

Patel, who during Trump's first term advised both the Director of National Intelligence and the Secretary of Defense, has previously called for stripping the FBI of its intelligence-gathering role and purging its ranks of any employee who refuses to support Trump's agenda.

With the nomination of Patel, Trump is signalling that he is preparing to carry out his threat to oust Christopher Wray.

Patel hints at releasing Epstein, Diddy lists

The news of Patel being chosen to be the next FBI boss has garnered massive attention among social media users. 

Also read | Trump accused of groping former model as Jeffrey Epstein watched the ‘twisted game’

In a post on X on Sunday, American commentator Benny Johnson released a snippet of his recent podcast with Patel where he (Patel) detailed a comprehensive declassification operation under the second Trump term.

"...when we go back to the DOJ (Department of Justice) and the FBI, we still don't have all the lists, all of the stuff they did to 275,000 Americans illegally in one year. Put that out there," Patel said.

"To me, what you mentioned is the most important part: restoring trust in our agencies and departments," Patel said,

"And the way to do that isn't to treat them like a piñata, hoping for something good to pop out. The way to do it is by giving the American people the truth. And that's what they feared about Donald Trump. He's going to come in there and might just give them the Epstein list, the 'Diddy list,' and everything else they're terrified of being exposed," he added.

But will Trump actually release these lists?

American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffery Epstein, who was found dead in a prison cell in 2019, had close relations with a lot of high-profile people, including Donald Trump. 

Epstein and Trump were once neighbours in Florida and partied together. However, in the year 2004, their friendship took a sour turn.

When Epstein was arrested in July 2019, Trump, who was then US president, said, "I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you."

In January this year, about 950 pages of court documents identifying associates of Epstein were made public.

Some of the prominent names mentioned in these documents were Prince Andrew, magician David Copperfield, Donald Trump, and former US president Bill Clinton.

Also read | Trump selects Indian-origin Kash Patel to head FBI, announces key picks for DEA, and Justice Department

On September 3, Trump had expressed willingness to release additional official files related to Epstein if he was re-elected. In a podcast, Trump emphasised that he never visited Epstein's private Island, which is notorious for the abuse of numerous females, including underaged girls.

Meanwhile, Sean Diddy Combs was arrested in September on sex trafficking and racketeering charges.

With Trump emerging victorious in the November 5 election, will he release the Diddy and Epstein lists?

'Diddy was arrested so that...'

A day before the election results were announced, Donald Trump Jr suggested that Diddy had been arrested so that celebrities who were affiliated with him would endorse Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

“We’re seeing unprecedented amounts of pay-for-play again,” Trump Jr said on his podcast, Triggered, on November 4.

“Again, none of this is organic. It’s a paid influencer operation. Know that. The celebrities who aren’t getting paid are getting probably paid in another way because they’re either on an Epstein list or a Diddy party list or both,” Trump Jr said.

“We all saw that, how magically Diddy gets busted, and all of a sudden everyone’s endorsing the Democrat, just out of nowhere,” he added.

(With inputs from agencies)