MS NOW Issues Correction After Incorrectly Reporting FBI Director Kash Patel Was in Russia

MS NOW issued a correction after reporting that FBI Director Kash Patel had landed in Russia for a meeting, when he was in fact in Virginia.

On Wednesday, MS NOW anchor Peter Alexander reported that Patel was in Russia for a scheduled meeting, citing "two people familiar with the matter." Justice and intelligence reporter Ken Dilanian appeared on air to analyze the situation, expressing that FBI sources were concerned about the trip due to potential hosts from Russia's FSB security service.

Shortly after the report, the FBI's Rapid Response X account publicly addressed the claim, stating, "MS Now’s ‘sources’ are ‘familiar’ with NOTHING." The FBI clarified that Patel was in Virginia for a law enforcement appreciation event at Liberty University.

Patel himself responded on social media with the phrase "Facts over clickbait."

Later the same day, Dilanian provided a correction to MS NOW viewers. "I want to correct reporting from earlier today. 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. We've since learned that Patel did not, in fact, land in Russia today and remains in the U.S.," he stated. Dilanian added, "Again, we regret this error, and we are transparent about when we make errors."

Politico had reported in July that Patel had a planned trip to Russia that included stops in Moscow and St. Petersburg. MS NOW directed inquiries about the correction to Dilanian's on-air remarks.