FBI Director Kash Patel clashed with Democrats on Tuesday at a fiery Senate hearing during which he was accused of purging the bureau’s ranks of agents perceived of being disloyal to Republican President Donald Trump.Patel also defended his handling of two high-profile cases: last week’s murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and the probe into sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.Senator Dick Durbin, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, accused Patel of inflicting “untold damage on the FBI” and putting national security and public safety at risk with an “unprecedented purge of FBI officials.”Democratic Senator Cory Booker said the mass firings of FBI agents who worked on past criminal cases brought against Trump had “made our country weaker and less safe” and predicted the FBI chief is “not going to be around long.””As much as you supplicate yourself to the will of Donald Trump — and not the Constitution of the United States of America — Donald Trump has shown us… he is not loyal to people like you. He will cut you loose,” Booker said.Pressed by Democratic Senator Adam Schiff as to whether any FBI agents had been fired in political retribution, Patel erupted, calling the California lawmaker the “biggest fraud to ever sit in the United States Senate” and a “political buffoon.””I do not have an enemies list,” Patel said. “The only actions we take, generally speaking, for personnel at the FBI are ones based on merit and qualification and your ability to uphold your constitutional duty. You fall short, you don’t work there anymore.”Patel has been lambasted from both the right and the left since being named by Trump to head the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the nation’s premier law enforcement agency.According to Fox News, Patel’s relationship with Attorney General Pam Bondi is particularly strained, although he continues to enjoy the confidence of the White House.Patel has been criticized in particular for his actions in the aftermath of the assassination of Kirk during a speaking event at a Utah university.The FBI chief announced the arrest of a suspect a few hours after the shooting, only to turn around two hours later and say that individual had been released and the manhunt was continuing.Tyler Robinson, the actual suspected assailant, was formally charged in Provo, Utah, on Tuesday with the murder of Kirk, founder of the influential conservative youth political group Turning Point USA.- ‘No credible information’ -Patel was also asked by both Republican and Democratic senators about Epstein, the convicted sex offender whose case has become a political lightning rod for the Trump administration.Patel said there is no “credible information” in the law enforcement files he has seen that Epstein trafficked young women to other individuals.”There is no credible information, none,” Patel said. “If there were I would bring the case yesterday that he trafficked to other individuals.”Some of Donald Trump’s fiercest supporters have tracked the Epstein case for years, believing “deep state” elites have been protecting Epstein associates in the Democratic Party and Hollywood.Patel angered many Trump loyalists with a memo in July that effectively closed the investigation into Epstein, who died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial for trafficking of underage girls.Since taking office, Trump has taken a number of punitive measures against his perceived enemies, purging government officials deemed to be disloyal, targeting law firms involved in past cases against him, and pulling federal funding from universities.Three former senior FBI officials filed a lawsuit against Patel last week over their firing, claiming they were victims of a “campaign of retribution” over a perceived “failure to demonstrate sufficient political loyalty.”Patel is to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

A US judge dropped two terror charges Tuesday against Luigi Mangione but said the man accused of gunning down a health insurance executive would still face trial for second-degree murder.Mangione appeared in court wearing a beige jumpsuit and shackles, flanked by armed police and court officers, and stopped to smile and nod at a young woman in the front row as he was led out, an AFP reporter saw.His appearance in a Manhattan courthouse is a reminder of the string of violence that has rocked the United States in recent times, including the December 4 slaying of insurance executive Brian Thompson.That has been followed by a number of other incidents, including the murder of a Democratic Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband, the firebombing of the Pennsylvania governor’s home and, most recently, the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.”As to Counts One and Two, charging the defendant with Murder in the First Degree, and Murder in the Second Degree, under the terrorism statute, the evidence put forth before the Grand Jury was legally insufficient for those charges,” Judge Gregory Carro ordered. “Therefore, those two charges are dismissed.”He also ordered Mangione to return to court on December 1 for a hearing to discuss the handling of evidence in the case.Fervent supporters of Mangione gathered both inside and outside court to show their backing for the 27-year-old whose alleged crimes have sharply divided Americans.Thompson’s murder brought to the surface deep public frustration with the lucrative US commercial health care system, with some social media users painting Mangione as a hero.He is charged in both state and federal court in the December 4 shooting of Thompson, who was chief executive of UnitedHealthcare.- Insufficient evidence for ‘terrorism’ -If convicted in the state case, Mangione could face life imprisonment with no parole. In the federal case, he could technically face the death penalty.One of the protesters, who were mostly young women, held up an Italian flag emblazoned with the words “healthcare is a human right.”Mangione’s attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo has sought clarity on how simultaneous federal and state charges would work, calling the situation “highly unusual.”Dozens of Mangione’s supporters chased his legal team along the street after they left court following the packed hearing.Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on December 9 following a tip from staff at a McDonald’s restaurant, after a days-long manhunt. He had traveled to New York by bus from Atlanta about 10 days before the crime, US prosecutors said. After checking into a Manhattan hostel with false identification, he allegedly performed reconnaissance near the victim’s hotel and the conference venue where the shooting took place.Early on December 4, Mangione allegedly tracked Thompson, walked up behind him and fired several gunshots from a pistol with a silencer, federal prosecutors said. Afterward, he is said to have fled on a bicycle.

Robert Redford was rarely spotted at Sundance in his final years, yet the late Hollywood legend forever looms large at the influential US movie festival he co-created.Set up in the 1980s to support creative, independent directors at a time when the blockbuster era launched by “Jaws” and “Star Wars” held sway over Hollywood, Sundance is for many filmmakers the epitome of Redford’s legacy.”Reflecting on Robert’s importance is like reflecting on the moon’s importance — it’s tidal,” said David Osit, a director whose documentary “Predators” premiered at this year’s Sundance.”It’s beyond comprehension, his impact. I don’t know what our profession looks like without his influence, especially on independent film,” he told AFP.Years before his breakthrough role in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” the native Californian Redford had purchased a small plot of land in the picturesque, snowy mountains of Utah.That valley became the first home of Redford’s Sundance Institute, which offers resources and training to young movie directors, and soon after to the Sundance Film Festival — an annual showcase for new independent movies that changed the US industry.Held in sub-zero temperatures each winter at an altitude of 7,000 feet (2,150 meters), the Sundance festival has famously launched the careers of directors like Quentin Tarantino and Steven Soderbergh.It has also premiered countless Oscar-winning documentaries, including recent titles “20 Days in Mariupol,” “Navalny” and “Summer of Soul.”Roughly 4,000 feature films have been presented at the fest over the years, the vast majority from directors who are not household names and have limited finances.”In the United States, there isn’t government funding typically for young artists, like there is in other countries,” said Richard Heredia-Arriaga, a director who has been involved with the online Sundance Collab platform for nearly a decade.”That’s what makes Sundance so special for American filmmakers, in particular, because it was an outlet for your work to be seen and then basically legitimized on a professional level.”As it grew in size, Sundance has attracted some of the very commercialism that it had been set up to mitigate — something that did not always sit well with Redford.”I want the ambush marketers — the vodka brands and the gift-bag people and the Paris Hiltons — to go away forever,” Redford famously told a reporter during the 2012 festival.”They have nothing to do with what’s going on here.”As Redford grew older and his health deteriorated, he had less direct involvement in the festival, though his video message always played before its opening film, and his family remained keen stewards of Sundance.One of Redford’s final public involvements was a statement marking the festival’s upcoming move away from its Utah home in the Park City ski resort, which it has outgrown. From 2027, Sundance will be held in Colorado.Sundance’s “mission remains even more critical today,” and the move “will ensure that the festival continues its work of risk taking, supporting innovative storytellers, fostering independence, and entertaining and enlightening audiences,” said Redford.Yet Redford’s stamp remains central to the Sundance brand, as an antidote to the excesses and risk-aversion of Hollywood, and for the sense of integrity and authenticity he brought to the festival and his adopted home.”He was just a regular guy, not your typical Hollywood movie star,” Monika Suter, a regular visitor to the Utah ski community of Sundance — itself named after Redford’s legacy — told AFP.”His presence is always felt within the organization, because there was always this known fact that Bob was the person that put this all together, you know?” added Heredia-Arriaga.

The suspect in the murder of prominent US conservative political activist Charlie Kirk has been formally charged with his murder, prosecutors in Utah announced Tuesday.Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump, was shot dead last week during a speaking event on a Utah university campus. He was the founder of the influential conservative youth political group Turning Point USA.Authorities said 22-year-old Tyler Robinson used a rifle to shoot Kirk with a single bullet to the neck from a rooftop. He was arrested after a 33-hour manhunt.”After reviewing the evidence that law enforcement has collected thus far, I am… charging Tyler James Robinson, age 22, with the following crimes,” Utah County attorney Jeff Gray told a press conference.”Count one, aggravated murder, a capital offense, for intentionally or knowingly causing the death of Charlie Kirk under circumstances that created a great risk of death to others.”Six other charges include obstruction of justice and witness tampering, allegedly for ordering his roommate to stay silent.”I am filing a notice of intent to seek the death penalty,” Gray added.”I do not take this decision lightly, and it is a decision I have made independently as county attorney based solely on the available evidence and circumstances and nature of the crime.”Gray cited lengthy text message exchanges between Robinson and his roommate, whom he described as “a biological male who was transitioning genders.”Robinson and the roommate were in a romantic relationship, Gray said.In one part of the exchange, the roommate, who was not named, asked Robinson why he had killed Kirk.”‘I had enough of his hatred.'” Gray cited the messages as saying. “‘Some hate can’t be negotiated out.'”Robinson, who is being held without bail, was expected to make an initial court appearance later Tuesday.Gray explained that in line with practice in the county, this appearance would be by video link.Kirk, a father of two, used his audiences on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube to build support for conservative talking points, including strong criticism of the transgender rights movement.A polarizing figure, he often posted edited clips of his interactions during debates at his many college events.FBI Director Kash Patel has been heavily criticized for his actions in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, including having quickly announced the arrest of a separate suspect, only to confirm they had been released two hours later.Patel faced a grilling from a Senate panel on Tuesday that included some very bad-tempered exchanges with Democratic Senator Corey Booker.Patel has come under fire from both the right and the left since being named by Trump to head the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the nation’s premier law enforcement agency.On Monday, the White House said it would be pursuing an alleged left-wing “domestic terror movement” in the wake of Kirk’s killing, prompting alarm that such a campaign could be used to silence political dissent.