FBI Director Kash Patel broke his silence after a viral video showed him chugging beers inside the U.S. men’s hockey team‘s locker room following a win against Canada in the gold medal game at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics on Sunday (February 22).
“For the very concerned media – yes, I love America and was extremely humbled when my friends, the newly minted Gold Medal winners on Team USA, invited me into the locker room to celebrate this historic moment with the boys- Greatest country on earth and greatest sport on earth,” Patel wrote on his personal X account.
Patel also accused journalist Carol Leonnig of lying after she published an article claiming the FBI told her that he “was only going to Olympics for meetings – not for hockey games” and that “he attended the games and ended up chugging beer with players,” which she referred to as “taxpayers paid a lot for this fan boy’s dream.”
The FBI director posted a screengrab of the article with a growing nose emoji next to Leonnig’s X handle, as well as an email in response to the journalist that states, “it is NOT accurate to say he’s flying out on government funds for a personal trip.”
Videos shared online showed Patel chugging a beer during Team USA’s celebration, as well as holding a cellphone as President Donald Trump addressed the team after the victory, which included making a joke about having to also invite the U.S. women’s team, which had also defeated Canada to win gold marking the first time Team USA won both tournaments at the same Winter Olympics event.
Jack Hughes‘ overtime goal led Team USA to its first gold medal in Olympic play since the ‘Miracle on Ice’ team at the 1980 Lake Placid Games. The Americans avenged a loss to Canada in the 4 Nationals Face-Off final last February, as well losses in the 2002 Salt Lake City and 2010 Vancouver Olympic gold medal games.
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