Kash Patel is now formally the director of the FBI. The Senate confirmed him Thursday in a 51-49 vote, delivering a significant win for Donald Trump, who has spent years clashing with the company. Each Senate Democrat voted in opposition to Kash. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, each Republicans, additionally opposed his nomination.
“Mr. Kash’s current political profile undermines his capability to serve within the apolitical position of Director of the FBI,” Collins stated earlier than the vote. However it wasn’t sufficient to cease him. Kash has constructed a popularity as considered one of Trump’s fiercest defenders.
Kash’s Bitcoin holdings and monetary disclosures
Kash’s monetary information present a considerably uncommon portfolio for an FBI director. He disclosed as much as $115,000 in a Bitcoin ETF, together with as much as $250,000 in Core Scientific, a significant Bitcoin mining firm.
The FBI after all already owns a large stash of Bitcoin. The company primarily will get its BTC by seizures tied to legal instances, scooping up belongings from darkish net busts, fraud schemes, and hacks.
As of press time, the FBI was sitting on 213,297 Bitcoin, making it one of many largest BTC holders on the planet. Among the largest seizures are 144,000 BTC from Silk Highway in 2013, 50,676 BTC from Jimmy Zhong, and 95,000 BTC from the Bitfinex hack. The US Marshals Service auctions most of it off, however for now, the FBI stays deep in crypto.
In the meantime, Kash’s monetary disclosure additionally particulars tens of millions in inventory holdings. Kash owns as much as $5 million in EliteDepot, a vogue and skincare retail firm, and as much as $250,000 in NVIDIA, one of many largest chipmakers on this planet. His belongings embrace as much as $250,000 in VK Built-in Techniques, a tactical gear firm tied to protection and legislation enforcement contracts.
Past investments, Kash made cash in media and publishing. He acquired $165,000 from Efficiency One Media, $99,000 from Epoch Occasions, and $57,000 from talking engagements at occasions like Our Watch, the Libertarian Nationwide Committee, and Residents Defending Freedom. His e-book offers—together with “Authorities Gangsters” and the “Plot In opposition to the King” sequence—introduced in between $145,000 and $1.2 million.
Kash agreed to step down from many positions as a part of his FBI position. He left Trump Media and Know-how Group, the Kash Patel Basis, and Epoch Occasions. Nonetheless, a few of his consulting companies, Trishul LLC and Dal Forno LLC, will stay inactive moderately than being dissolved.
His consulting work related him to key Trump allies. Kash labored with Hope Hicks’ firm, Cavender Consultants, Robert O’Brien’s American World Methods, and Trump’s Save America PAC.
