John Bolton compares Kash Patel to Stalin’s right-hand man after Trump’s FBI nomination

Former national security adviser John Bolton is speaking out against President-elect Trump’s nomination of Kash Patel for FBI director, drawing comparisons to Josef Stalin’s reign of terror. Bolton, who served in the first Trump administration, called on the Senate to reject Patel’s nomination, likening him to Lavrentiy Beria, the head of the Soviet secret police under Stalin.

In a statement provided to NBC News and shared by “Meet the Press” anchor Kristin Welker, Bolton expressed his concerns about Patel’s nomination. He said, “Trump has nominated Kash Patel to be his Lavrenty [sic] Beria. Fortunately, the FBI is not the NKVD [People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs]. The Senate should reject this nomination 100-0.”

Beria is known for his role in orchestrating surveillance, repression, ethnic purges, and terror during Stalin’s rule, making him a controversial figure in Russian history. Bolton’s comparison highlights the gravity of Patel potentially leading the FBI.

The announcement of Patel’s nomination sent shockwaves through Washington over the weekend. Trump praised Patel as a “brilliant lawyer, investigator, and ‘America First’ fighter.” Patel previously served as the senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council during the first Trump administration, where he was seen as a loyalist who may bring about significant changes within the FBI if confirmed.

In a September interview on “The Shawn Ryan Show,” Patel expressed his intention to “shut down the FBI Hoover Building on day one and reopen the next day as a museum of the deep state.” He also authored a book titled “Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for Our Democracy.”

This is not the first time Bolton has criticized a Trump pick. In November, he condemned the now-withdrawn nomination of Matt Gaetz for U.S. attorney general, calling it “the worst nomination for a Cabinet position in American history.”

As the controversy surrounding Patel’s nomination continues to unfold, it remains to be seen how the Senate will respond to Bolton’s call for rejection. The fate of Patel’s nomination and its implications for the FBI and national security will undoubtedly be closely watched in the coming days and weeks.