WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Director Kash Patel clashed with skeptical Democrats at a contentious Senate oversight hearing Tuesday, defending his record amid criticism that he has politicized the nation's premier federal law enforcement agency and pursued retribution against perceived adversaries of President Donald Trump .

“Mr. Patel, in just eight months, you have assaulted the institutional integrity of the FBI,” said Democrat Cory Booker of New Jersey, in one of several testy exchanges between Patel and senators.

The appearance Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee represented the first oversight hearing of Patel’s young but tumultuous tenure and provided a high-stakes platform for him to try to demonstrate that he is the right person for the job at a time of internal upheava

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