WATCH: 'Look at them!' Schiff tells Patel to face Capitol Police officers 'if you have the courage'

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., questioned Kash Patel on Thursday in his confirmation hearing for FBI director. Following other Democratic committee members' questions about Patel’s involvement with the “J6 choir,” the senator asked for more specific details on how big the FBI director nominee’s role was with this group, which included offenders who had assaulted officers during the insurrection. The two had a contentious exchange. At one point, Schiff told Patel to turn around and face the Capitol Police officers in attendance for his hearing. “Look at them!” Schiff said. “I want you to look at them if you can, if you have the courage to look them in the eye, Mr. Patel, and tell them you're proud of what you did. Tell them you're proud that you raised money off of people that assaulted their colleagues, that pepper sprayed them, that beat them with poles.” Patel didn’t turn around and said, “I've never, never ever accepted violence against law enforcement.” 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. Newsletters: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/subscribe PBS News podcasts: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/podcasts Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app: https://to.pbs.org/2Jb8twG Find more from PBS News at https://www.pbs.org/newshour Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2HfsCD6 Follow us: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pbsnews X: http://www.twitter.com/newshour Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/newshour Facebook: http://www.pbs.org/newshour