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Trump’s FBI pick, Kash Patel, received roughly $800,000 worth of stock in Trump’s media group.
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Patel, who is a director of TMTG, didn’t disclose the award before his Senate confirmation hearing.
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Democrats delayed Patel’s FBI nomination, citing concerns over potential politicization of the bureau.
President Donald Trump’s pick for director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations has received around $800,000 worth of stock in Trump Media & Technology Group.
Kash Patel, the former chief of staff to the US Secretary of Defence and a director of TMTG, was given 25,946 restricted shares in the parent company of Truth Social last week, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
The SEC Form 4 document shows that Patel was given the shares on January 28, which were then worth $779,000. Based on Thursday’s closing price, the value is now about $840,000.
The stock award came days before his Senate confirmation hearing, and the New York native did not disclose it on his financial disclosure report, which all federal appointees are required to file to determine potential conflicts of interest and deter corruption.
In total, according to his financial disclosure report, Patel made over $2.6 million last year.
Per SEC filings, all six Trump Media & Technology directors — Patel, Donald J. Trump Jr., pick for education secretary Linda McMahon, former Digital World Acquisition CEO Eric Swider, former Louisiana prosecutor W. Kyle Green, and former US trade representative Robert Lighthizer — received almost 26,000 each in shares on the same date in January.
The grant is subject to certain conditions, wherein 25% of the shares can be sold straight away, and the remaining 75% will vest in quarterly installments through March 2027.
On Thursday, a Senate Judiciary Committee vote to progress Patel’s nomination to lead the FBI was delayed by Democratic committee members, who have concerns about whether Patel is a suitable choice.
Some committee members say Patel has the potential to politicize the FBI after he included a list of “corrupt actors” in his 2023 book “Government Gangsters.”
Representatives of Kash Patel did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
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