Patel doubles down on FBI election hub raid, says Trump called agents directly to thank them for operation

FBI Director Kash Patel doubled down on his defense of the agency’s election hub raid in Fulton County, Georgia during a wide-ranging interview on "Special Report" Tuesday.

Federal investigators "followed the parameters of the search warrant and secured the evidence," Patel told Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier.

"What you saw play out last week was the execution of that search warrant, just like we would do anywhere else. The target of that search warrant was a warehouse down in Fulton County," he said.

On Jan. 28, FBI agents seized ballots, voting rolls and election records during a search of the Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Center tied to the 2020 election.

Patel maintained the agency had "probable cause" to search the facility in Georgia, a state where President Donald Trump narrowly lost to former President Joe Biden.

FBI AGENTS SEARCH ELECTION HUB IN FULTON COUNTY, GEORGIA

While the FBI director refused to discuss further details of the search warrant due to it still being under seal, he explained how the raid was authorized.

"We did the same thing there we do in any criminal case or investigation," Patel said.

"We collected evidence, we presented that evidence to a federal magistrate judge, who made a finding of probable cause and said, ‘Here’s your search warrant, here are the parameters to that search warrant.'"

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Patel went on to address Trump’s phone call with FBI agents following the search, after Baier noted it is "unusual" for a president to get involved on an "agent level."

The agents appreciate that Trump "backs the blue," Patel replied, adding the president called to thank investigators personally.

"To hear from the commander in chief, from my troops on the ground there, was a pretty cool thing," Patel said. "And we are pleased to hear the president come in and say thank you for [what] you’re doing. That is maybe unusual from prior administrations, but I take it every chance I get to thank the men and women in law enforcement."

KASH PATEL CONFIRMS FBI HAD 'PROBABLE CAUSE' FOR FULTON COUNTY ELECTION HUB RAID

Baier went on to question Patel about National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard's presence overseeing the FBI search.

"This doesn’t suggest there is some international element to this?" Baier asked.

While Patel did not explain Gabbard’s presence, he added he is "happy to have a team of investigators involved."

Fox News Digital obtained a letter from Gabbard to congressional lawmakers Monday that said Trump "specifically directed" her to be present during the FBI search. 

"For a brief period of time, I accompanied FBI Deputy Director Bailey and Atlanta Acting Special Agent in Charge Pete Ellis in observing FBI personnel executing that search warrant, issued by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia pursuant to a probable cause finding," she wrote.

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Gabbard said her "presence was requested by the President and executed under my broad statutory authority to coordinate, integrate, and analyze intelligence related to election security, including counterintelligence (CI), foreign and other malign influence, and cybersecurity."

"The FBI’s Intelligence/Counterintelligence divisions are one of the 18 elements that I oversee," she wrote.