MS NOW was forced to walk back an explosive claim Wednesday after telling viewers that FBI Director Kash Patel had landed in Russia, when he was actually standing on a stage at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia.
The FBI’s Rapid Response account quickly torched the report on X, posting footage of the network’s broadcast side-by-side with video of Patel speaking at the university.
“Here’s where Kash Patel actually is,” the account wrote. “MS Now’s ‘sources’ are ‘familiar’ with NOTHING!”
According to the FBI, Patel spent the morning at a law enforcement appreciation event hosted by Rep. John McGuire, R-Va.
The segment began with anchor Peter Alexander citing two unnamed people who said Patel had arrived in Russia for a scheduled meeting. Correspondent Ken Dilanian then piled on, warning viewers that the FSB would try to surveil the director and break into his devices, while noting that the purpose of his visit remained unclear.
But roughly two hours and 10 minutes later, Dilanian was back on air admitting the report was wrong.
“We regret this error,” he said on MS NOW.
Patel fired back on X, accusing the outlet of lying about the bureau and demanding an apology.
“MS NOW just reported I had ‘landed in Russia’ for meetings with the FSB,” Patel wrote. “The same outlet constantly tells lies about this FBI and law enforcement’s historic achievements in safeguarding the American people.”
The director pointed to a string of results he credited to the bureau and its partners, including more than 53,969 violent crime arrests, up 90%, and nearly a 20% decrease in the nationwide murder rate. He also cited more than 31,016 violent criminals and gang members arrested, up 30%, and the capture of 10 of the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted fugitives, 2.5 times the number captured in the prior four years.
Patel added that more than 11,081 child victims had been located and identified, up 21%, and that more than 3,258 kilos of fentanyl had been seized, up 8%, which he said was enough to kill more than 247 million Americans.
“This is no accident,” Patel wrote. “It is due to the relentless work of this FBI and all of our state, local, and tribal partners. They owe an apology to this FBI, the men and women of law enforcement, and to the American people.”
Ben Williamson, the FBI’s assistant director for public affairs, wrote on X that he watched the breaking news clip air at the very moment photos of Patel at the Lynchburg event were arriving on his phone.
Politico reported in July that Patel was tentatively scheduled to visit Moscow and St. Petersburg on Oct. 14 and 15, with the FSB expected to serve as host. Such a trip would make Patel the first FBI director to enter Russia since Robert Mueller in 2013.
The botched report is not the first clash between MS NOW and those close to the director. Patel’s fiancée, country singer Alexis Wilkins, sued MS NOW and Dilanian this summer over what she describes as defamatory claims that the director ordered FBI agents to escort her drunken friends home after nights out partying in Nashville, Mediaite reported.
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