Fury as Kash Patel SNORKELS at sacred war tomb where 900 sailors still lie... then jets off to Las Vegas

By PHILLIP NIETO, US POLITICAL REPORTER Published: 21:54, 14 May 2026 | Updated: 21:56, 14 May 2026 Kash Patel is facing fierce backlash after snorkeling around a sunken Pearl Harbor battleship that still entombs the remains of nearly 900 American sailors, then jetting off to Las Vegas. The FBI director embarked on the 'VIP' ocean excursion above the remains of the USS Arizona during a two-day Hawaii stopover last August, according to the Associated Press. He had already touched down on the island days earlier in order to visit the FBI's Honolulu field office.  However, the swimming event was buried by the FBI even as the bureau trumpeted Patel's official meetings during his Hawaii trip.  Military brass quietly coordinated the logistics and personnel for the exclusive swim, which the Navy now brushes off as 'not an anomaly' for top officials.   The National Park Service, which oversees the hallowed memorial alongside the Navy, said it had no involvement in Patel's outing. It is unclear exactly how Patel's snorkeling session was arranged, per AP.  Marine veteran Hack Albertson blasted the snorkel as a desecration, fuming that letting political figures splash above the war dead is 'like having a bachelor party at a church.' Patel's snorkeling scandal piles onto mounting concerns over his globe-trotting on the FBI's dime using a government-issued private jet.  Patel is facing fierce backlash after snorkeling around a sunken Pearl Harbor battleship that still entombs the remains of nearly 900 American sailors, then jetting off to Las Vegas The FBI director embarked on the 'VIP' ocean excursion above the remains of the USS Arizona during a two-day Hawaii stopover last August The swimming event was buried by the FBI even as the bureau trumpeted Patel's official meetings during his Hawaii trip The FBI director remained on Hawaii for two nights before using his private FBI gulfstream jet to fly to Las Vegas.  Snorkelers on Patel's outing were given strict orders not to touch or make any contact with the sunken vessel.  The FBI has not issued a statement commenting on the director's snorkeling vacation.  Recently, Patel has battled a tidal wave of unflattering headlines centered on his drinking habits, kicked off by an April Atlantic exposé alleging 'excessive drinking and unexplained absences.' Patel's late-night partying and drinking reportedly forced aides scrambling to push back morning meetings. The same report also claimed his security detail once requested 'breaching equipment' after they couldn't rouse the FBI director from behind a locked door. Patel has denied all the allegations and filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against the Atlantic.  Adding to his growing slew of bad headlines, a viral February clip showed Patel chugging a beer with the US men's Olympic hockey team in Milan, behavior that NBC News reported left Trump personally displeased with the locker-room antics. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.