Critics Torch Kash Patel’s ‘Disgraceful’ 4-Word Victory Lap Over MS NOW Russia Report Misfire

(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images)

FBI Director Kash Patel sparked a backlash Wednesday with a four-word jab at MS NOW after the network falsely reported that he had traveled to Russia — while he was actually speaking in Virginia.

MS NOW had reported earlier that Patel had landed in Moscow for meetings before the FBI publicly disputed the claim and pointed to his appearance at a law-enforcement event at Liberty University.

The network later acknowledged the error and issued an on-air correction.

Patel’s response was brief: “From Russia, with Love…”

But the sarcastic victory lap quickly became its own controversy, drawing criticism over its timing and tone as Russia continued its attacks on Ukraine and the Trump administration faced fresh scrutiny over its posture toward Kyiv.

Former Trump administration official Miles Taylor added: “We don’t have to look very hard for the collusion anymore.”

Politico Playbook writer Carla Marinucci questioned whether Patel was “high”:

Celebrity chef José Andrés, whose nonprofit organization has brought relief to Ukraine throughout the war, offered a much more blunt verdict: “You should be so ashamed of yourself! #WeStandWithUkraine”

Others piled on:

The reaction came at an especially sensitive moment in the war in Ukraine after CBS News reported that U.S. officials may have intentionally withheld early warnings of incoming Russian strikes during an attack that killed six people and knocked out power to approximately 600,000.

Ukrainian officials told the network they did not believe an explanation that bad weather had caused an American warning system to fail.

Some drew attention to that fact, including NBC News journalist Jane Lytvynenko:

Others, like Mother Jones Washington bureau chief David Corn, revived scrutiny of Patel’s previous financial relationship with a Russian filmmaker:

Patel disclosed receiving $25,000 from a company owned by filmmaker Igor Lopatonok, whose work has promoted pro-Kremlin narratives. The Washington Post previously reported that Lopatonok also worked on a Russian influence project funded by a foundation that Vladimir Putin had created.

Patel’s tweet, meanwhile, was positively received by Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who said that the line “may become a real message soon”:

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