FBI director Kash Patel’s ‘VIP snorkel’ at US war tomb revealed

Under-fire FBI Director Kash Patel has become embroiled in a new scandal after emails surfaced claiming he took a “VIP snorkeling” trip at an undersea Pearl Harbor cemetery during a visit to Hawaii.

Patel visited Hawaii in mid-2025, with FBI press reports at the time stating that the Trump appointee was not on vacation and that he was visiting the islands as part of his job.

However, emails obtained by the Associated Press reportedly revealed that Patel not only visited the local FBI office and law enforcement, but also participated in what government officials described as a “VIP snorkel” around the USS Arizona during a military-coordinated outing.

The sunken battleship buries more than 900 sailors and Marines at Pearl Harbor, including hundreds who died in Japan’s infamous 1941 attack that brought the U.S. into World War II.

The swimming, which was reportedly revealed in government emails, comes to light amid criticism of Patel’s use of the FBI plane and his global travels, which have blurred professional responsibilities with leisure activities. The FBI did not disclose the snorkeling session or that Patel had returned to Hawaii two days after his first stop on the island.

“It fits a pattern of Director Patel getting caught up in unseemly distractions — this time at a site commemorating the second-deadliest attack in American history — instead of staying focused on protecting Americans,” said Stacey Young, founder of Justice Connection, a network of former federal prosecutors and agents who advocate for the independence of the Justice Department.

With few exceptions, snorkeling and diving are prohibited around the USS Arizona. The battleship, now a military cemetery accessible only by boat, has been considered one of the country’s most sacred sites since Japan bombed and sank it in 1941. Maritime archaeologists and National Park Service crews occasionally dive the monument to examine the condition of the wreck. Other dives have been conducted to bury the remains of Arizona survivors who wanted to rest forever with their former shipmates.

Still, at least since the Obama administration, the Navy and Park Service have quietly allowed a handful of dignitaries, including military and government officials responsible for managing the monument, to swim at the site. The Navy and the Park Service declined to provide details about those who were allowed to undertake such excursions.

Former FBI directors have visited Pearl Harbor on official business, but no one dating back to at least 1993 has gone snorkeling at the monument, according to those familiar with their activities and a former government diver who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. The diver said it was unusual for a director or someone not involved with the monument to be given such access because swimming poses physical risks and security, safety and logistical challenges.

Patel has faced criticism for his leadership over the past year, with his use of public funds emerging as a recurring storyline of his tenure. The issue flared in February when video surfaced of Patel partying in the locker room with members of the U.S. men’s hockey team after their gold medal win at the Winter Olympics in Milan. Patel this week defended the trip as “deliberately planned” in connection with a cybercrime investigation involving Italian authorities.

Unanswered questions about an exclusive outing

Patel’s excursion was in August, when he spent two days in Hawaii on his return to the United States after official visits to Australia and New Zealand. On his way to those countries he stopped in Hawaii to visit the field office in Honolulu. An FBI spokesperson did not answer questions about the snorkeling session.

The FBI said in a statement that top regional commanders received Patel at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam “as they typically do with U.S. government officials on official trips.” The visit to Pearl Harbor, the spokesperson said, “was part of the director’s public national security activities last August with colleagues in New Zealand, Australia, our Honolulu Field Office and the Department of War.”

It was not clear how Patel’s snorkeling session was arranged. A Navy spokesperson, Capt. Jodie Cornell, confirmed the outing but said the service was unable to determine who initiated it.

Participants in Patel’s swim were told not to touch or come into contact with the sunken ship in any way, Cornell said. She added that the snorkelers were also informed about “the historical significance of the Memorial as the final resting place/tomb for hundreds of service members.”

Government emails obtained by the AP through a public records request show that military officials coordinated logistics and personnel for the “VIP Snorkel.”

The National Park Service, which manages the site in conjunction with the Navy, told AP that it was not involved in Patel’s swim and declined to comment on the excursion. It also declined to answer questions about other such outings.

Navy admirals and defense and interior ministers were among those who received invitations to snorkel, the former government diver said. The diver added that the swimming sessions were intended to give officials an insight into the monument and its activities.

The Navy declined to provide examples or figures showing how often it organizes such excursions. It described Patel’s outing as “not an anomaly”.

Hack Albertson, a Navy veteran, is part of a select group of the Paralyzed Veterans of America trained to dive the Arizona annually to monitor the condition of the wreck. He said it was inappropriate for Patel and other political figures to snorkel or dive near the monument.

“It’s like having a bachelor party in a church. It’s hallowed ground,” he said. “It should be treated with the solemnity it deserves.”

Some family members have no objection to snorkeling

Some relatives of Pearl Harbor survivors said they were not bothered by such official excursions, although some expressed a desire to snorkel at the site as well. They said they weren’t allowed to do this.

“I have not heard of anyone who would object to these visits because they are very rare and there are no Arizona survivors left alive,” Deidre Kelley, national president of the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors, wrote in an email. “Their children may have some objections, but I haven’t heard them yet.”

Patel visited Pearl Harbor several years ago during a trip he took to Hawaii when he was chief of staff to Christopher Miller, then the acting secretary of defense, the former government diver said.

Miller said he snorkeled above the Arizona during an official visit to the base, but Patel was not present for that excursion. Miller said he was invited to snorkel by regional military officials and was told such a tour was for “special occasions and for special visitors, of which you are one.” He called it a “meaningful” experience.

“It was a very somber and meaningful event,” Miller said in an interview. “It was a historical tour. It wasn’t a recreational thing.”

The FBI will not discuss Patel’s return to Hawaii

Besides the snorkeling excursion, it’s not clear what else Patel did during his second stop in Hawaii.

Flight data from the Gulfstream G550, usually used by the FBI director, shows that the plane stayed on the island for two nights during that stay before flying to Las Vegas, Patel’s hometown. The aircraft has a published range of approximately 12,391 km, meaning the aircraft would have had to refuel somewhere between New Zealand and Washington.

The snorkeling session took place a day after Patel stopped in Wellington to open the FBI’s first standalone office in New Zealand. The visit sparked controversy after the AP revealed that Patel had gifted that country’s police and spy bosses with inoperable 3D-printed replica pistols that were illegal to own under local gun laws.

With associated press.

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