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Kash Patel

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Kash Patel
Born
Kashyap Pramod Patel

Garden City, New York, United States
CitizenshipUnited States
Alma materUniversity of Richmond (BA)
Pace University (JD)
University College London
OccupationAttorney
EmployerUnited States Government

Kashyap Pramod Patel is an American attorney and government official serving, as of 2020, as chief of staff to the Acting United States Secretary of Defense.

Originally from Garden City, New York, Patel has worked at the U.S. National Security Council and at the U.S. House of Representatives. He was previously employed as a federal public defender, a federal prosecutor working on national security cases, and a legal liaison to the U.S. armed forces.

Early life and education

Kashyap "Kash" Patel was born in Garden City, New York, to ethnically Gujarati parents who had immigrated to the United States from East Africa, via Canada, in 1970.[1] He graduated from the University of Richmond in 2002 and earned a Juris Doctor from Pace University in 2005.[1][2] He also received a certificate in international law from University College London.[3]

Career

Early career

After graduating from law school, Patel worked as a public defender in Florida for eight years, first in the Miami-Dade County public defender's office and later as a federal public defender.[2][4] As a public defender he represented clients charged with felonies including international drug trafficking, murder, firearms violations, and bulk cash smuggling.[4][5]

In 2014, Patel was hired as a trial attorney in the United States Department of Justice National Security Division, where he simultaneously served as a legal liaison to the Joint Special Operations Command.[2][5] During this period he was embedded with a special mission unit at a "secure facility" and in 2015 received a commendation from the Central Intelligence Agency.[4]

In 2017, Patel was appointed senior counsel on counterterrorism at the House Select Committee on Intelligence.[2][3][a]

White House

During the presidency of Donald Trump, Patel held several staff positions in the White House, including as Principal Deputy to the Acting Director of National Intelligence.[5][7] In June 2019, he was appointed senior director of the Counterterrorism Directorate at the United States National Security Council (NSC); according to the Wall Street Journal, he led a "secret" mission to Damascus in early 2020 to negotiate the release of Majd Kamalmaz and journalist Austin Tice, both of whom were being held by the Syrian government.[2][8]

In an October 2019 story, Politico, citing an anonymous source it reported had formerly worked at the White House, wrote that Patel had unusually "unique access" to Donald Trump, had provided "out of scope" advice to him on United States Ukraine policy and that his position on the NSC had been created specifically for him.[9][10] Patel denied the claims and, the following month, sued Politico for defamation, seeking $25 million in damages.[9][b]

In February 2020, Patel was part of Trump's entourage during the state visit of the United States to the Republic of India and was noted in press reports as one of two Americans of Indian descent to accompany the president.[12][13][c]

U.S. Department of Defense

In November 2020, Patel was made chief of staff to Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher C. Miller.[14] Shortly after his appointment, CNN published a story that called him a "conspiracy theorist".[15] Patel rejected the characterization and filed a $50 million defamation suit against CNN the next month.[15] As chief of staff he was designated to lead the Department of Defense's coordination with the presidential transition of Joe Biden, and also supported a departmental initiative to separate the National Security Agency from the U.S. Cyber Command.[16][17]

AEI policy director Kori Schake argued that although Patel and others were “unconfirmable”, the shakeup was primarily a matter of “spite” towards the Pentagon establishment.[18] Foreign Policy magazine connected the move to Trump’s “refusal to accept the election results”.[19] Alex Ward of Vox, based on interviews with defense experts, suggested that Patel’s appointment was “not sinister”, would “not change much”, and may have served an effort to accelerate the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.[20]

Personal life

Patel resides in the District of Columbia.[4] He plays ice hockey.[5] In 2014 he agreed to participate in a bachelor auction of what Above the Law described as "very handsome lawyers" to benefit Switchboard of Miami,[21] but he withdrew from the auction after a blogger noted his Florida law license was out of date.[22]

Notes

  1. ^ According to the New York Times, Patel was the primary author of the Nunes memo, however, that claim was disputed by the committee's staff director, by a spokesman for Devin Nunes, and by unattributed sources interviewed by India Abroad.[6] Patel did not offer a public comment on the matter.[6]
  2. ^ As of January 2021, the case is being heard in the circuit court of Henrico County, Virginia.[11]
  3. ^ The other was Ajit Pai.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b Haniffa, Aziz (August 13, 2019). "Trump admirer Kashyap 'Kash' Patel lands important White House position". India Abroad. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Indian-American named Chief of Staff". Times of India. November 11, 2020. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Who is Kashyap 'Kash' Patel?". The Indian Express. February 3, 2018. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d Patel v. POLITICO LLC et al (Report). United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. 2019. Case 3:19-cv-00879-MHL, Exhibit 1. Retrieved January 2, 2021. {{cite report}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |authors= (help)
  5. ^ a b c d "Kashyap P. Patel, Esq". defense.gov. U.S. Department of Defense. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  6. ^ a b Haniffa, Aziz (February 10, 2018). "Push Back on Capitol Hill Over Claims of 'Kash' Patel as the Primary Author of the Controversial Memo". India Abroad. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  7. ^ Jha, Lalit K (December 17, 2020). "Indian-American Pentagon official Kash Patel sues CNN, seeks USD 50 mn for defamation". Yahoo. Press Trust of India. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  8. ^ "White House official held secret talks in Syria to free US citizens". Jerusalem Post. Reuters. October 19, 2020. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  9. ^ a b Irby, Kate (November 18, 2019). "Devin Nunes' lawyer files another defamation lawsuit, this time for White House official". Fresno Bee. McClatchy. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  10. ^ Bertrand, Natasha (October 23, 2019). "Nunes protégé fed Ukraine info to Trump". Politico. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  11. ^ Patel v Politico, LLC et al (Report). Circuit Court of Henrico County, Virginia. CL19006745-00. {{cite report}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |authors= (help)
  12. ^ Roy, Shubhajit (February 23, 2020). "Trump's visit: Two Indian-Americans part of US President's 16-member delegation". India Abroad. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  13. ^ a b Duttagupta, Ishani (February 15, 2020). "US President's delegation to India may include several Indian American officials". Economic Times. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  14. ^ "Indian-American Kash Patel Named Chief Of Staff To Acting US Defence Secretary". NDTV. Press Trust of India. November 11, 2020. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  15. ^ a b "Indian-American Pentagon official Kash Patel files $50 million defamation lawsuit against CNN". Firstpost. December 17, 2020. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  16. ^ Feldscher, Jacqueline (November 24, 2020). "Kash Patel, recently installed Trump loyalist, now leading Pentagon transition". Politico. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  17. ^ Volz, Dustin (December 20, 2020). "Defense Officials Push Proposal to Separate NSA, Cyber Command". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  18. ^ Schake, Kori (November 12, 2020). "Trump's Pettiness Is the Simplest Explanation". The Atlantic. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  19. ^ "More Top Pentagon Officials Out After Trump Sacks Esper". Foreign Policy magazine. November 10, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  20. ^ Ward, Alex (November 11, 2020). "Why Trump is suddenly replacing Pentagon officials with loyalists". Vox. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  21. ^ Zaretsky, Staci (January 17, 2014). "Very Prestigious Lawyers Are Selling Themselves To Women For The Highest Price". Above the Law. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  22. ^ Rogers, Katie; Rosenberg, Matthew (February 2, 2018). "Kashyap Patel, Main Author of Secret Memo, Is No Stranger to Quarrels". New York Times. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
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