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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsGuess who did a "VIP" snorkel at Pearl Harbor above the entombed soldiers below?
If you guessed Kash Patel, you'd be correct, although it could be so many in this embarrassing cabinet of trump groupies.
Yes, according to Ron Filipkowski, he is "living his best life" when he went on a VIP snorkeling junket above the tombs of 900 US soldiers.
All at tax payers' expense, of course.
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BlueWaveNeverEnd
(14,928 posts)
Diamond_Dog
(41,004 posts)
senseandsensibility
(25,487 posts)Plus he'd have to take off his suit and tie.
malaise
(297,834 posts)😀
senseandsensibility
(25,487 posts)the main reason. One thing I do know is it's not because he thinks it would be in bad taste.
BHDem53
(1,159 posts)
magicarpet
(19,400 posts)BlueWaveNeverEnd
(14,928 posts)When Kash Patel visited Hawaii last summer, the FBI took pains to note the director was not on vacation, highlighting his walking tour of the bureau's Honolulu field office and meetings with local law enforcement.
Left out of the FBI news releases was an exclusive excursion that Patel took days later, when he participated in what government officials described as a "VIP snorkel" around the USS Arizona in an outing co-ordinated by the military. The sunken battleship entombs more than 900 sailors and marines at Pearl Harbor.
With few exceptions, snorkeling and diving are off-limits around the USS Arizona. The battleship, now a military cemetery reachable only by boat, has stood as one of the country's most hallowed sites since Japan bombed and sank it in 1941. Marine archaeologists and crews from the National Park Service make occasional dives at the memorial to survey the condition of the wreck. Other dives have been conducted to inter the remains of Arizona survivors who wanted to rest eternally with their former shipmates.
senseandsensibility
(25,487 posts)right?
niyad
(133,950 posts)
ornotna
(11,549 posts)Frickin’ disgusting.
senseandsensibility
(25,487 posts)The site is hallowed ground and usually off limits, with exceptions for maintenance or for Arizona survivors who want to be interred with their fellow shipmates. 
City Lights
(26,017 posts)He is so inappropriate is just about every situation.
malaise
(297,834 posts)😂
City Lights
(26,017 posts)
Norbert
(7,850 posts)The Pacific Ocean at Pearl Harbor is much less polluted than where he usually swims.
magicarpet
(19,400 posts)He claims it keeps his immune system chip chipper.
Zorro
(18,868 posts)haele
(15,587 posts)Except for the little, tiny clause in the instructions indicating the Superintendent of Pearl Harbor can issue a permit for specified beach/cove areas, gang ways or pier-side - but not around archaeological or shipwreck areas in the Harbor.
https://www.nps.gov/perl/learn/management/perl-superintendent-s-compendium-2025.htm
IDK how the Commandant of PACOM can say, "Oh, yeah, I got them a VIP permit to swim around the Arizona..."
It takes months for documentary film crews to get permits for any of the wrecks, not to mention the Arizona, and they have to submit all sorts of paperwork concerning safe driving procedures, the areas they would be filming in, how long they could film, and a whole list or rules on what they could film, what can't they film, and spaces they just aren't allowed to go.
The Navy is constantly monitoring the integrity of the wrecks; there are parts of the ship you can't even go near because the movement you make in the water can do significant structural damage.
And f*** Ka$h - is he the type to go rolling in the grass in a graveyard? Bragging rights for going snorkeling over a shipwreck where bodies are still interred? I hope someone wasn't permitted to be scattering a grandparent's ashes at the same time...
Maybe he and Kegsbreath should go check to make sure there's a body in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier...
BattleRow
(2,696 posts)
TomSlick
(13,090 posts)There is nothing beneath these swine.
senseandsensibility
(25,487 posts)called it sacrilegious. I have never seen him show emotion like that.
TomSlick
(13,090 posts)A snorkeling adventure at the Arizona is like holding a dance at Arlington Cemetery.
Iggo
(50,046 posts)
Buddyzbuddy
(2,867 posts)Or trying to find a secluded place he can booze it up in private?
MustLoveBeagles
(17,176 posts)So I'm surprised this was allowed. Let's hope his snorkel was faulty and the ship is still leaking fuel.
I don't think we have to ask what would've happened if a Democrat had been dumb enough to do this.
Ilsa
(64,544 posts)I can't imagine why anyone would think this was a good idea, especially Patel. Doesn't he understand how to reign in his impulses for self-gratification? I bet he wanted to wank off during the inauguration, but it was too cold.
surfered
(14,204 posts)
DinahMoeHum
(23,675 posts)
Harker
(18,118 posts)3Hotdogs
(15,529 posts)Instead of bullyragging on the guy, what are YOU doing to solve the mystery?
BHDem53
(1,159 posts)wcmagumba
(6,609 posts)Gawd, these thuglicans are sickening...
milestogo
(23,190 posts)LetMyPeopleVote
(181,855 posts)The beleaguered director didn’t need another embarrassing controversy. He apparently has one anyway.
As emails show Kash Patel’s Hawaii trip included “VIP snorkel†at the Pearl Harbor memorial, two things stand out:
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-05-14T20:22:35.400Z
- There are some folks at the FBI who are clearly eager to humiliate this guy
- The revelations are entirely unsurprising given everything we know about him
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/patel-snorkel-hawaii-emails-pearl-harbor
Left out of FBI’s news releases was an exclusive excursion that Patel took days later when he participated in what government officials described as a “VIP snorkel” around the USS Arizona in an outing coordinated by the military. The sunken battleship entombs more than 900 sailors and Marines at Pearl Harbor.
The swim, revealed in government emails obtained by The Associated Press, comes to light amid criticism over Patel’s use of the FBI plane and his global travel that has blended professional responsibilities with leisure activities. The FBI did not disclose the snorkeling session or that Patel had returned to Hawaii for two days after his initial stopover on the island.
An FBI spokesman did not answer questions about the snorkeling session, according to the AP, though it acknowledged that regional commanders hosted Patel at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam “as they commonly do with US government officials on official travel.”...
A year ago this month, Patel attended a secret conference of U.S. intelligence allies, and ahead of the gathering, the FBI director’s team apparently made some unusual requests. The New York Times reported earlier this year:
Before the conference, his staff says he’s unhappy because he doesn’t like meetings in office settings. What he wants is social events. He wants Premier soccer games. He wants to go jet skiing. He’d like a helicopter tour. Everyone who heard about this was like: Hold on. Is he really going to ask the MI5 director to go jet skiing instead of meeting? … His staff only cared about three things: what his meals were, when his workouts would be and what his entertainment would be.
To know anything about Patel’s tenure is to know that work doesn’t appear to be this guy’s top priority. He seems far more interested in having a great time, which happens with great regularity.
The FBI Director, everyone. You paid for it.
— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) 2026-02-23T00:10:52.818Z
Time will tell what, if any, impact this will have on Patel’s professional future, but it’s worth noting that it was just a few weeks ago when Politico reported that things “aren’t looking great” for Patel, adding that he appears likely to be the next high-ranking official to exit the administration. This dovetailed with related observations about just how little the White House has done to defend Patel, or even to say his name out loud, in the face of multiple controversies.
The director started scrambling soon after to save his job, but between the latest reporting and the “Saturday Night Live” sketches that lampooned Patel as a national joke, no one should be too surprised if the president starts looking for some faraway land that needs a new ambassador. Watch this space.
SNL will have fun on Saturday