"Shifty Schiff": Pro-Armenian senator draws backlash after accusing FBI chief

Pro-Armenian Senator of California Adam Schiff posted a clip accusing FBI Director Kash Patel of lowering bureau hiring standards, with many criticising Schiff’s framing of the hearing and others focusing on Patel’s explanation, The Nerd Stash writes. 

The video shows Schiff recounting a Senate Judiciary Committee exchange with FBI Director Kash Patel over bureau hiring rules, particularly over bestiality no longer being an automatic disqualifier.  

“You probably saw one of the most embarrassing parts was his defense of the FBI changing their hiring practices so that they could hire people who’ve been convicted or accused of bestiality,” Schiff says. He adds that, “with the departure of all of these agents,” officials “really had to lower their standards to try to fill their ranks.” 

According to the X caption, Patel “lowered the hiring standards at the FBI so they could employ people who engaged in bestiality” and then “tried to defend it by saying he wanted to protect those on both sides.” 

During the hearings, Patel said earlier rules had automatically disqualified anyone who “participated on either side of it,” that the change was meant to avoid barring trafficking victims, and that someone who “voluntarily did it” should still be disqualified. 

Some viewers focused on the phrasing Schiff highlighted. One YouTube commenter wrote, “I choked on my drink when he said protect both sides,” and another called it “a very embarrassing moment for the FBI.”

A separate group pushed back on Schiff. On X, one user wrote, “Shifty Schiff, biggest liar in Congress,” and another said, “We all loved watching you get the smackdown.” A third replied, “The Senate has no hiring standards at all, fortunately for Adam Schiff.”