Trump's FBI pick received payment from pro-Russian filmmaker – WP
Photo: Kash Patel (x.com/JDVanceNew)
FBI chief candidate Kash Patel received a payment from a company run by filmmaker Igor Lopatonok, who is linked to the Kremlin, according to The Washington Post.
In 2024, Patel received a $25,000 payment from a film company owned by a Russian citizen who also holds US citizenship.
According to documents from the US Senate Judiciary Committee obtained by the publication, Patel was paid by the Los Angeles-based company Global Tree Pictures, which is run by filmmaker Igor Lopatonok. His previous projects have been linked to a pro-Russian influence campaign funded by a foundation created by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The newspaper reports that Lopatonok, originally from Ukraine, lived and worked in Russia before moving to Los Angeles in 2008. He is known to have visited Moscow at least twice, in 2012 and 2014, and has publicly criticized Ukraine’s Revolution of Dignity. Lopatonok directed the propaganda film Maidan Massacre, which denies that pro-Russian forces were behind the killings of activists in Kyiv.
Kash Patel was paid for his participation in a documentary film. In the film, he and other officials from Donald Trump’s first administration are portrayed as victims of a conspiracy that allegedly sought to have "destroyed the lives of those who stood by Donald Trump in an attempt to remove the democratically elected president from office."
The six-part documentary series, All the President’s Men: The Conspiracy Against Trump, aired on the online network of right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson. In one episode, Patel vowed to "shut down the FBI headquarters building and open it up as a museum to the deep state."
The Washington Post highlights that these revelations raise further concerns about Patel’s nomination as FBI director. Previously, Democratic lawmakers had also expressed doubts about his candidacy.
The Senate Judiciary Committee vote on Patel’s nomination has been postponed until next week due to Democratic objections.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has stated that he plans to carry out "surgical purges" within the FBI, likely targeting agents involved in the investigation of the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
Additionally, Trump has appointed his former bodyguard, Sean Curran, as the new head of the US Secret Service. Curran is known for shielding Trump during an assassination attempt in the summer of 2024.
