‘I’m Not Going To Retract’: Former Pence Aide Doubles Down On Claim Kash Patel Lied About Intelligence Despite Legal Threats
Olivia Troye, a former aide to former Vice President Mike Pence, doubled down on her claims Kash Patel lied about intelligence while serving in the Defense Department.
On Wednesday, Troye revealed that a lawyer representing Patel sent her a letter threatening to sue her for defamation unless she retracted claims she made about his ability to lead the FBI.
Following President-elect Donald Trump’s announcement that Patel would replace FBI Director Christopher Wray, Troye claimed during an MSNBC panel discussion that Patel would often lie about intelligence while working inside the Defense Department.
CNN Anchor Jim Acosta asked Troye during a Thursday morning interview if she plans on retracting her statements.
ACOSTA: What does that even tell you that even before his confirmation hearings, he is threatening you for criticizing him?
TROYE: Yeah, I think it’s a very clear sign of what’s to come. Should he become the director of the FBI and how he is going to conduct himself? I mean, we should take him at his word. These are things that he has threatened in the past. And I think by doing what he did, by sending that letter to me, it was an attempt to bully me, silence me, intimidate me. But it’s also a signal to others, right as he goes into the confirmation process of of trying to silence others in terms of telling the truth about his background. I mean, look, I am a person who believes that he is unfit for the role of FBI director. And I have concerns about how he will behave in the role in leading the nation’s premiere law enforcement agency.
ACOSTA: And so you stand by your criticism of Kash Patel?
TROYE: I absolutely do.
ACOSTA: Even if they have this letter saying you’ve got to retract all this, you’re not going to do that.
TROYE: Yeah, I’m not going to retract from telling the truth. That is where I am. And this is something that I lived when I was working with him. And it is absolutely true. I you know, my job in that role was to serve the vice president of the United States in the best way possible. That is what I did. And if that meant, you know, at times not taking Kash at his word, going around like there were people on his staff that used to come to my office and seek counsel for me and advice about what it was like to work for him who know exactly what I’m talking about. Others have been very public about the things that I mentioned. I am not the only senior national security official who has come out and said they have concerns about Kash Patel and his fitness for this role.
Watch the clip above via CNN.
