WATCH: Sen. Booker questions Patel about Musk influence on FBI, Trump declassifying documents

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., questioned Kash Patel on Thursday in his confirmation hearing for FBI director. In his second round of questioning, Booker read a list of names and asked Patel if he knew those names. Patel said he had all worked with them in the past. Booker said allegedly that two of the individuals were "affiliated with SpaceX and Elon Musk and that [Musk] had influence and who will be placed around you as political appointees." Booker also grilled Patel about whether he had seen President Donald Trump declassify documents at Mar-a-Lago. "The question is, will you lie for the president of the United States? Would you lie for Donald Trump?" Booker asked. Patel said no. Patel appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee. A loyal Trump supporter, Patel is a former public defender turned Justice Department prosecutor. He served in President Donald Trump’s first term as chief of staff to acting defense secretary Christopher Miller. In interviews, he has said he wants to reduce the size of the national intelligence community, and shut down the FBI’s headquarters in Washington. He’s also repeated the false narrative that Trump won the 2020 election. Watch PBS News for daily, breaking and live news, plus special coverage. We are home to PBS News Hour, ranked the most credible and objective TV news show. Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app: https://to.pbs.org/2Jb8twG Find more from PBS NewsHour at https://www.pbs.org/newshour Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2HfsCD6 Follow us: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pbsnews X (formerly Twitter): http://www.twitter.com/newshour Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/newshour Facebook: http://www.pbs.org/newshour Subscribe: PBS NewsHour podcasts: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/podcasts Newsletters: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/subscribe