Patel said this week he did not regret putting the statement out because he wanted to be fully “transparent” with the public about the manhunt to locate Kirk’s killer, while conceding he could have “worded it a little better in the heat of the moment.”<\/p>\n

“But do I regret putting it out?” he asked during a Fox & Friends <\/em>interview. “Absolutely not. I was telling the world what the FBI was doing as we were doing [it], and I’m continuing to do that.”<\/p>\n

“I challenge anyone out there to find a director who has been more transparent and more willing to work with the media with high-profile cases or any cases that the FBI is handling than we have been under my leadership,” Patel continued. <\/p>\n

The FBI director’s handling of the case has attracted accusations from critics that he is grandstanding amid some confusion in the manhunt, during which the FBI clarified that several people detained and released before Robinson’s arrest were not suspects, but rather “people of interest.”<\/p>\n

“He should not have posted anything about the case until there was certainty,” a former senior FBI official told<\/a> NBC News. “People need to trust what the director says. He needs to be measured and always right. It wasn’t a good look.”<\/p>\n

Another former senior FBI official added, “Investigations aren’t a publicity contest” or about “who can tweet out information first.” <\/p>\n

Patel has stood by his unusual approach to the investigation, particularly offering up a defense of his push to release images of Robinson to the public, which he credited to the rapid capture of Kirk’s alleged assassin. <\/p>\n

“Against all law enforcement recommendations, we demanded the video footage and enhanced stills of the suspect be released to the public,” the FBI director said <\/a>over the weekend. “Robinson’s father, who ultimately turned him in to authorities, told law enforcement<\/a> that he recognized his son in that released video.”<\/p>\n

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Against all law enforcement recommendations, we demanded the video footage and enhanced stills of the suspect be released to the public.<\/p>\n
Robinson’s father, who ultimately turned him in to authorities, told law enforcement that he recognized his son in that released video. pic.twitter.com\/nCwEso3vth<\/a><\/p>\n
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) September 13, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n