Kash Patel "VIP snorkel" around the USS Arizona
What Actually Happened
When Kash Patel visited Hawaii last summer, the FBI highlighted his walking tour of the Honolulu field office and meetings with local law enforcement — taking pains to note the director was not on vacation. Left out of FBI news releases was that Patel participated in what government officials described as a "VIP snorkel" around the USS Arizona — the battleship sunk during Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 that entombs more than 900 sailors and Marines. The swim was revealed in government emails obtained by the Associated Press. CNN
The Access Issue
With few exceptions, snorkeling and diving are off-limits around the USS Arizona. The battleship is a military cemetery reachable only by boat. Marine archaeologists and National Park Service crews make occasional dives to survey the wreck's condition. The National Park Service said it had nothing to do with Patel's outing. A Navy spokesperson confirmed the swim but would not comment on which party initiated it. CNN
The Context — Pattern of Undisclosed Travel
The FBI did not disclose the snorkeling session or that Patel had returned to Hawaii for two days after his initial stopover. The excursion occurred in August as Patel spent two days in Hawaii returning from official visits to Australia and New Zealand. CNN
The New Zealand Detail — Worth Noting
The Hawaii visit followed controversy after the AP revealed that Patel had gifted New Zealand's police and spy bosses inoperable 3D-printed replica pistols that were illegal to possess under local gun laws. CNN
The Response
Stacey Young, who founded Justice Connection — a network of former federal prosecutors and agents — said: "It fits a pattern of Director Patel getting tangled up in unseemly distractions — this time at a site commemorating the second deadliest attack in US history — instead of staying laser-focused on keeping Americans safe." CNN
The FBI said the Pearl Harbor visit "was part of the director's public national security engagements" — without elaborating on what national security purpose the snorkeling served.
The documented facts are straightforward — a restricted sacred military cemetery was accessed for a personal recreational activity during a trip the FBI publicly described as strictly work-related, then not disclosed until government emails were obtained by the AP.
Whether that constitutes misuse of official access is a fair question. What is established is the pattern of undisclosed personal activities during officially characterized work trips — consistent with the Hawaii, Italy Olympics, Scotland golf, and Texas hunting incidents previously reported.