Key facts
- FBI Director Kash Patel was in Virginia for a law enforcement event.
- The FBI denied a report that Patel had traveled to Russia.
- Patel was seen at an event in Lynchburg, Virginia on Wednesday.
The FBI denied a media report that Director Kash Patel had traveled to Russia for meetings with the FSB. The agency stated Patel was in Virginia on Wednesday for a law enforcement appreciation event, with video evidence supporting the claim. MS NOW had reported earlier on Wednesday, citing two unnamed sources, that the FBI chief had landed in Russia for a two-day meeting in Moscow and St. Petersburg. An ABC News affiliate in Virginia also showed Patel at an event in Lynchburg on Wednesday. In a separate development, Representatives Jamie Raskin and Jim Himes had urged Patel to cancel a reported trip to Russia next month, citing national security concerns regarding cooperation with Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB).