Draft:Kash Patel

Kashyap Pramod Vinod Patel , born on 25 February 1980, is an American lawyer, former federal prosecutor. He has held significant positions during Donald Trump's first presidency, serving as a National Security Council official, chief of staff to the acting U.S. Secretary of Defense, and senior advisor to the acting Director of National Intelligence.

In November 2024, President-elect Trump nominated Patel to succeed Christopher Wray as the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This nomination underscores his continued influence and relevance in American politics.

Kashyap Patel, a member of the Republican Party, was appointed as senior counsel on counterterrorism for the House Intelligence Committee in 2017 and later became the senior director of the Counterterrorism Directorate at the National Security Council in 2019. During his time in these roles, he served as a senior aide to Congressman Devin Nunes when Nunes was chair of the House Intelligence Committee.

Patel played a significant role in assisting Republicans with investigations into Trump and Russian interference in the 2016 election. Notably, he was instrumental in drafting the Nunes memo in 2018, which alleged inaccuracies in the FBI's application for a surveillance warrant concerning a Trump campaign aide from 2016.

After leaving government service, Patel promoted several conspiracy theories and sold branded merchandise under the logotype "K$H." He currently serves as president and a board member of the Kash Foundation, based in Alexandria, Virginia.

Early life

Kashyap Pramod Vinod Patel was born on February 25, 1980, in Garden City, New York, to parents who immigrated from India. His family initially left Uganda in East Africa during the early 1970s due to ethnic persecution and first settled in Canada before eventually moving to the United States. In the U.S., his father found work as a financial officer at an aviation company. Growing up with Indian heritage, Patel was raised in the Hindu dharma and completed his education at Garden City High School on Long Island.

After finishing high school, Patel pursued higher education and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and criminal justice from the University of Richmond in 2002. He later earned his Juris Doctor from Pace University School of Law in New York in 2005 and also received a certificate in international law from University College London in 2004.