Emails show FBI Director Kash Patel went on a “VIP snorkel” at Pearl Harbor

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When FBI Director Kash Patel visited Hawaii last summer, the Bureau described his trip as official business connected to national security and meetings in Honolulu. But emails obtained by The Associated Press say Patel later participated in a separate, military-coordinated excursion: a “VIP snorkel” around the USS Arizona memorial at Pearl Harbor.

AP reports that the snorkeling session surfaced in the context of criticism of Patel’s use of government resources and of travel that some critics say blurs professional responsibilities with leisure. The FBI did not disclose the snorkeling session, and it also did not disclose that Patel returned to Hawaii for two additional days after his initial stopover on the island.

Stacey Young, who founded Justice Connection, a network of former federal prosecutors and agents advocating for the Department of Justice’s independence, said the episode reflects a broader pattern. “It fits a pattern of Director Patel getting tangled up in unseemly distractions — this time at a site commemorating the second deadliest attack in U.S. history — instead of staying laser-focused on keeping Americans safe,” Young said.

AP said snorkeling and diving are generally off-limits around the USS Arizona memorial, a military cemetery reachable only by boat that entombs more than 900 sailors and Marines from the 1941 attack. Marine archaeologists and National Park Service crews make occasional dives to survey the condition of the wreck, and other dives have been conducted to inter the remains of Arizona survivors who wanted to be with their former shipmates. The Navy and the park service have declined to provide details on how often such excursions are permitted and which individuals receive invitations.

The emails AP obtained, through a public records request, describe military officials coordinating logistics and personnel for a “VIP snorkel.” Navy spokesperson Capt. Jodie Cornell confirmed that Patel took part in the outing, while saying the Navy was not able to track down who initiated it. Cornell said participants were told “not to touch/come into contact with” the sunken ship and were briefed about the memorial’s significance as the final resting place for hundreds of service members.

The National Park Service told AP it was not involved in Patel’s swim and declined to comment on the excursion. AP also reported that the park service declined to answer questions about any other such outings, and the Navy declined to provide examples or numbers showing how frequently it organizes excursions.

According to a former government diver who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, such access is unusual for someone not connected to the memorial. The diver said that, at least since the Obama administration, the Navy and park service have quietly allowed a handful of dignitaries, including officials responsible for management of the memorial, to swim at the site. The diver said swims are intended to provide officials with insights into the memorial and its operations.

The disclosure comes as Patel has faced scrutiny over his leadership for the past year, including scrutiny of his use of government resources. In February, video surfaced of Patel partying in the locker room with members of the U.S. men’s hockey team after the team’s gold medal win at the Winter Olympics in Milan, and Patel defended the trip as “purposely planned” in connection with a cybercrime investigation involving Italian authorities earlier this week, AP reported. As covered previously, that controversy helped fuel broader questions about his travel and use of resources during official engagements, including the kind of leisure that sometimes follows official stops MSI previously reported that Patel joined a hockey celebration amid scrutiny over government travel.

AP said Patel’s snorkeling excursion was in August while he spent two days in Hawaii returning to the United States from official visits to Australia and New Zealand. On his way to those countries, AP reports, he stopped in Hawaii to visit the Honolulu field office. An FBI spokesman did not answer questions about the snorkeling session, and the FBI said in a statement that top regional commanders hosted Patel at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam “as they commonly do with US government officials on official travel.”

The FBI statement said the Pearl Harbor visit was part of the director’s public national security engagements last August with counterparts in New Zealand, Australia, and with the Honolulu field office and the Department of War. AP reported that it was not clear how the snorkeling session was arranged, and that the Navy spokesperson could not determine who initiated the outing.

AP reported that family members of Pearl Harbor survivors said they were not bothered by rare official excursions, though some said they wanted permission to snorkel as well. Deidre Kelley, national president of the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors, wrote in an email that she had not heard of anyone objecting and that survivors were not available to take part. AP also reported that Kelley and others said such visits are very rare.

Beyond the snorkeling excursion, AP said it was not clear what else Patel did during his second stop in Hawaii. Flight tracking data for the Gulfstream G550 typically used by the FBI director showed the jet remained on the island for two nights during that stay before flying on to Las Vegas, AP reported. The snorkeling session, AP said, happened one day after Patel stopped in Wellington to open the FBI’s first standalone office in New Zealand, a visit that drew controversy after AP reported he had gifted inoperable 3D-printed replica pistols to police and spy officials that were illegal to possess under local gun laws.