Harry Patel and the Kingdom of Donald: Trump Aide Kash Patel’s Children’s Book Perpetuates False Narrative Over Steele Dossier
- Titled “The Plot Against the King,” it claims that “King Donald” was wrongly accused of cheating by a slug Keeper Komey and Hillary Queenton, and was saved by “wizard Patel” and “Duke Devin.”
Kashyap ‘Kash’ Pramod Patel, a former intelligence and defense official for the Trump administration, has written a children’s book perpetuating the lie about the FBI investigation into Trump-Russia collusion, blaming the probe on the so-called Steele Dossier, as reported in The Guardian. The book titled “The Plot Against the King,” which was launched May 16, refers to Patel as “the wizard” who saved “King Donald” along with “Duke Devin” (Devin Nunes, former congressman, currently chief executive officer of the Trump Media & Technology Group).
Steele Dossier is a controversial opposition research report compiled by British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, which contains “allegations of misconduct, conspiracy, and cooperation between Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and the government of Russia” before and during the 2016 election campaign. Several claims in the report have not been corroborated.
The Indian American writes that King Donald was wrongly accused of cheating by a “slug Keeper Komey” and “Hillary Queenton,” a reference to former FBI director James Comey and Hillary Clinton. The wizard Patel then proclaims to the kingdom, the book says, according to The Guardian, that “the king, King Donald, is innocent” and “did not work with the Russonians” – a reference to Russia – and “Hillary wrote that paper and had her sneaky slugs slide into the steel box.”
The Guardian notes that Patel’s “35-page tome, complete with an epilogue that details Donald Trump’s false claims about the FBI inquiry, bizarrely uses the tool of children’s fictional characters to provide a revisionist account of the probe that dogged the first two years of the Trump presidency and eventually led to a special counsel investigation.”
The book comes on the heels of conservative political commentator and far-right provocateur Dinesh D’Souza’s latest film “2000 Mules” peddling Trump’s election lies. The film, released earlier this month, claims “mules,” paid or unpaid political operatives placed ballots in multiple vote drop boxes in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, which were used to make voting easier during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The film debuted in over 270 theaters across the U.S., according to a PR Newswire press release. On the first weekend itself, the film reportedly made over a million dollars on right-wing YouTube competitor Rumble’s subscription-based platform.
However, it’s in total contrast to the children’s book released by Preet Bharara, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, as one Twitter user pointed out. Titled “Justice Is… A Guide for Young Truth Seekers,” Bharara explains “in clear and simple language what justice is and what it takes to achieve it for even the youngest readers,” according to the book’s synopsis on publisher Penguin Random House’s website.
“Drawing on examples of historic justice seekers whose deeds best demonstrate those attributes by asking hard questions, keeping an open mind, defending the truth, and using their voices and their bodies to fight injustice—such as Ida B. Wells, John Lewis, Malala Yousafzai, and many others, this timely book is perfect for exploring the concept of justice. Inspire young readers to fight for justice in their world and to remain hopeful that by standing together, it can triumph.” the website says.
Patel, who flew largely under the radar during the Trump administration, rose from an obscure Hill staffer to become one of the most powerful players in the national security apparatus.
He played “a very large role” in Congressman Nunes’ attempt to undermine the Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. He flew to England in the summer of 2108, where he tried unsuccessfully to meet with Christopher Steele, the author of the Steele dossier that purported to detail links between the Trump campaign and Russia. Patel was a primary author of a 2018 memo, released by Nunes over the objections of the FBI, that accused federal investigators of bias against Trump and his team.
Before his Pentagon appointment, Patel served as the deputy assistant to the president and senior director for Counterterrorism (CT) at the National Security Council (NSC). He also served as principal deputy to the Acting Director of National Intelligence, “where he oversaw the operations of all 17 intelligence community agencies and provided the president’s daily briefing,” per his Department of Defense profile.
Patel is among several Trump loyalists subpoenaed by the Jan. 6 Investigating Committee. He was serving as Chief of Staff to Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher C. Miller during the attack on the Hill after Trump appointed him to replace Mark T. Esper as the top Pentagon official. In that role, he was responsible for leading the secretary’s mission at the department, including his executive staff and providing counsel to the secretary on all matters concerning the department’s operations.
It has been widely reported that Patel was in constant contact with former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on the day of the riots. He was also involved “in discussions among senior Pentagon officials before and during the attack regarding security at the Capitol,” The New York Times reported, citing documents provided by the Defense Department.
A day after the attack, Patel had issued a statement denying Trump’s reluctance to deploy the National Guard to the Capitol on Jan. 6. Patel said he spoke “multiple times this week about the request for National Guard personnel in D.C. During these conversations, the president conveyed to the acting secretary that he should take any necessary steps to support civilian law enforcement requests in securing the Capitol and federal buildings.”