MS NOW has retracted a report that FBI Director Kash Patel had traveled to Russia for meetings with Russian security officials, after he was photographed at a law enforcement event in Virginia on Wednesday.
Representative John McGuire, a Virginia Republican, shared photos of himself shaking Patel's hand at a roundtable event in Lynchburg on Wednesday.
“Today, I was proud to welcome FBI Director Kash Patel to Lynchburg for a roundtable discussion I hosted with local law enforcement and students from Liberty University School of Law,” McGuire wrote in a Facebook post.
...
Video from an ABC News affiliate in Virginia also showed Patel attending the event.
The FBI also disputed the MS Now report in a post on X, sharing images that contrasted the report of Patel's alleged arrival in Russia with his appearance at Liberty University.
“Here’s where Kash Patel actually is… Liberty U, doing a law enforcement appreciation event,” the FBI Rapid Response account wrote.
Newsweek reached out to the FBI for comment.
Patel responded in a separate post on X, accusing MS NOW of spreading false information and demanding an apology.
“MS NOW just reported I had ‘landed in Russia’ for meetings with the FSB,” Patel wrote Wednesday, referring to Russia’s Federal Security Service.
“The same outlet constantly tells lies about this FBI and law enforcement’s historic achievements in safeguarding the American people,” he added.
MS NOW has since issued a correction, saying “we regret this error.”
“I reported that two sources had told us that FBI Director Kash Patel had landed in Russia for a planned trip that had been reported about recently," correspondent Ken Dilanian said on air just before 2 p.m. ET. "We've since learned that Patel did not, in fact, land in Russia today and remains in the U.S."
Earlier Wednesday, the network reported, citing two unnamed sources, that Patel was in Russia for a two-day trip involving meetings in Moscow and St. Petersburg hosted by the Federal Security Service (FSB).
In July, Politico reported that Patel was expected to travel to Moscow and St. Petersburg on October 14 and 15 for meetings likely to be hosted by the FSB. The plans were described as tentative and subject to change.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Anna Commander and Sam Wilson.