Kashyap PatelLast Updated: May 26, 2022

Senior team; deposition scheduled for Oct. 14. Kash Patel came to the administration from the staff of Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.). (You may remember the kerfuffle over a secret memo about the Russia probe in early 2018; that memo was written by Patel.) Patel was part of an unusual shuffle of staff at the Defense Department after Trump’s election loss.

Committee description:

At the time of the January 6th attack, Kashyap Patel was serving as chief of staff to Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller. The former President had appointed Mr. Patel to this position on November 10, the day after then-Secretary of Defense Mark Esper was replaced. According to documents provided by the Defense Department and published accounts, Mr. Patel was involved with discussions among senior Pentagon officials prior to and on January 6th, 2021, regarding security at the Capitol, and told a reporter that he was talking to Mr. Meadows ‘nonstop that day.’ The Select Committee has previously sought information about steps taken at the Pentagon to protect the national security both before and after January 6th, including Mr. Patel’s role and his communications with other Pentagon officials.