FBI director declines to rule out Russia travel, says bureau will go ‘wherever we need to go'

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - FBI Director Kash Patel on Thursday declined to rule out travel to Russia, saying the bureau and the Justice Department would go wherever necessary to pursue justice for the American people while refusing to disclose the agencies’ potential travel plans.

“We're not going to announce where we're going to go and when we're going to go,” Patel said at a news conference.

"This FBI and this Department of Justice will go wherever we need to go to mete out justice for the American people.”

Patel's remarks came in response to a question about reports that he planned to visit Moscow and, more recently, claims that he had traveled to the Russian capital.

He dismissed the reports as false but did not explicitly rule out future travel to Russia.

“Well, as you pointed out, the reporting was entirely false,” said Patel, adding that he had been at Liberty University speaking with students, police officers and young Americans interested in joining law enforcement.

Patel defended the bureau's international operations, noting that the agency maintains 125 offices overseas and works with foreign governments to address criminal threats and advance US law enforcement priorities.

“Under this administration, we engage with everyone to make sure that we can service the needs of the American people to reduce crime, to find kids that are missing, to bring home hostages, and to thwart any cyber actors who wish to do us harm,” Patel said.

He said the FBI would continue engaging with US allies and adversaries, crediting President Donald Trump's administration with creating opportunities for international cooperation.

“By engaging our allies and adversary alike, we are going to continue that mission because President Trump has kicked open those doors that were never opened before,” he said.

Diyar Güldoğan