FBI chief Kash Patel demands 3 apologies from MS NOW over retracted Russia report
Synopsis
FBI Director Kash Patel was falsely placed in Russia by MS NOW, corrected within two hours — but the fallout is far from over. With the FBI vowing to hunt the leakers behind the bogus tip and a parallel row raging over whether Patel inflated violent-crime arrest figures by 90 per cent, this is shaping up as one of the sharpest media-versus-bureau confrontations of his tenure.
Key Takeaways
MS NOW retracted a report on 14 October that falsely claimed FBI Director Kash Patel had landed in Russia ; the correction came roughly two hours after broadcast.
Patel demanded three apologies — to the FBI, to the law enforcement community, and to the American people — in a post on X .
An FBI official told Fox News Digital that the two anonymous sources behind the leak would 'likely' be identified: 'We are always hunting leakers.' MS NOW separately reported that Patel's claim of a 90 per cent rise in violent crime arrests was inflated by including partner-agency arrests; it also cited a 15 per cent drop in FBI criminal referrals versus the previous administration.
Patel and Deputy Director Christopher Raia both rejected the statistical critique, defending the bureau's data-collection methodology.
The FBI's Summer Heat 2.0 initiative recorded 8,927 arrests between 1 June and 20 September , with over 5,900 under the violent crime and gang programme.
FBI Director Kash Patel has publicly demanded three apologies from US television network MS NOW after it retracted a report falsely claiming he had travelled to Russia, escalating a confrontation that now spans a disputed Russia trip claim, a threat to identify government leakers, and a separate row over the bureau's crime statistics.
The Retracted Russia Report
On 14 October, MS NOW correspondent Ken Dilanian, citing two anonymous sources, reported that Patel had landed in Russia. The claim was incorrect. Patel was in Lynchburg, Virginia, attending a law enforcement honours event at Liberty University alongside Republican Congressman John McGuire. Dilanian corrected the report on air approximately two hours after it aired.
'The timing of any potential trip remains unclear. Again, we regret this error, and we are transparent about when we make errors,' Dilanian said in his on-air correction.
Patel's Response and Apology Demand
Patel responded sharply on X, writing: 'MS NOW put me in Russia based on two anonymous sources. I was in Virginia, honoring law enforcement at Liberty University. The network had to correct its false report.' He then added: 'Three apologies are owed: to this FBI, to the law enforcement community, and to the American People.'
An FBI official separately told Fox News Digital that the two sources behind the leak would 'likely' be identified, with the official adding: 'We are always hunting leakers.' The statement signals the bureau intends to pursue an internal investigation into the origin of the erroneous tip.
The Crime Statistics Dispute
The retracted Russia story is not the only flashpoint between Patel and MS NOW. Earlier on 14 October, the network published an analysis of Justice Department data contending that Patel's claim of a 90 per cent rise in violent crime arrests was 'inflated by including arrests that state and local police forces and other federal agencies have made when an FBI employee is present.' The analysis also stated that the FBI had referred 15 per cent fewer criminal cases for federal prosecution compared with the same period under the previous administration.
Patel pushed back on X, writing: 'The data is collected by the field and our partners — not from me — and whether you like it or not the FBI had a 90% increase in violent crime arrests from the previous 18 months.' FBI Deputy Director Christopher Raia also weighed in, calling the headline 'an insult to law enforcement across the country and especially to the FBI,' and asserting that 'the process behind how we collect these statistics has remained the same year after year.'
Dilanian defended the network's analysis, writing on X that 'no one at the FBI or anywhere else has disputed the DOJ data showing FBI criminal referrals down 15%,' according to reports.
Summer Heat 2.0 Arrests
Separately, the FBI this week announced results from its Summer Heat 2.0 initiative — a joint operation with state and local partners running from 1 June to 20 September — which yielded 8,927 arrests in total. Of those, 'more than 5,900 arrests fell under the FBI's violent crime and gang programme,' the bureau said. Notably, the official release did not specify how many of those arrests were made directly by FBI agents as opposed to partner agencies — a distinction that sits at the heart of the ongoing statistical dispute.
Who Is Kash Patel
Kash Patel, who is of Indian origin, has led the FBI since February 2025. His tenure has been marked by a combative posture toward legacy media and a stated commitment to rooting out internal leaks — a stance now being tested in real time by the MS NOW episode.
With the FBI vowing to identify the sources behind the erroneous Russia report and the crime-statistics dispute unresolved, the standoff between Patel's bureau and MS NOW is unlikely to end with a retraction alone.
Point of View
Documented case of anonymous-source journalism gone wrong, at precisely the moment he is trying to delegitimise internal leakers. But the crime-statistics row is the more substantive fight: whether the FBI's 90 per cent arrest figure is a genuine enforcement surge or a methodological sleight of hand has real policy implications. The bureau's refusal to break out partner-agency arrests from its own in the Summer Heat 2.0 release does not help its credibility on that specific point. Patel's combative media posture may play well politically, but the DOJ referral data — down 15 per cent by MS NOW's reading — is a number the bureau has not directly rebutted.
NationPress
18 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What did MS NOW report about Kash Patel that was retracted?
MS NOW correspondent Ken Dilanian, citing two anonymous sources, reported on 14 October that FBI Director Kash Patel had landed in Russia. The report was incorrect — Patel was in Lynchburg, Virginia, at a law enforcement event at Liberty University. The network corrected the story on air about two hours later.
Why is Kash Patel demanding three apologies?
Patel said the false Russia report damaged the reputation of the FBI, the broader law enforcement community, and misled the American public. In a post on X, he stated that apologies are owed to all three — the FBI, the law enforcement community, and the American people.
What is the FBI doing about the leakers behind the false report?
An FBI official told Fox News Digital that the two anonymous sources who provided the erroneous tip to MS NOW would 'likely' be identified, adding: 'We are always hunting leakers.' This signals a formal internal investigation is underway or anticipated.
What is the dispute over the FBI's crime statistics?
MS NOW published an analysis on 14 October arguing that Patel's claim of a 90 per cent rise in violent crime arrests was inflated because it included arrests made by state, local, and other federal agencies when an FBI employee was merely present. The network also reported FBI criminal referrals were down 15 per cent versus the same period under the previous administration. Patel and Deputy Director Christopher Raia both rejected the critique, saying the data-collection methodology had not changed.
Who is Kash Patel and when did he become FBI Director?
Kash Patel, who is of Indian origin, has served as FBI Director since February 2025. His tenure has been characterised by a confrontational stance toward media organisations and a stated focus on identifying and prosecuting government leakers.
