https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/fbi-ousts-leader-as-patel-fumes-over-attention-to-agency-jet-use
"The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?" — Psalm 27:1
✅ Public tracking & texting
1. Aircraft tracking is public by default
Many government aircraft (including FBI, DHS, and other federal planes) broadcast their location via ADS‑B transponders, which can be picked up by aviation tracking websites like Flightradar24.
This means that anyone with access to these sites could see flight paths in near real‑time.
In this case, the FBI jet used by Director Patel could be tracked publicly, regardless of whether Palmer did anything wrong.
2. Director's own communications
Reports indicate that Kash Patel also texted or posted updates about his location during travel.
This further made the trip visible to the public, independent of any aviation oversight by Palmer.
3. Implications
From a procedural standpoint, Palmer's aviation unit had no way to stop ADS‑B data from being publicly visible — it is standard aviation protocol, except in limited "sensitive flights" cases where the government requests transponder masking.
Similarly, if the director voluntarily shared his location, that is outside the purview of aviation oversight.
Therefore, firing Palmer appears more about optics and a political reaction than any actual violation of FBI rules by him.
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⚖️ Bottom line
Even though Palmer technically oversaw aviation operations, the flight's public trackability and the director's own communications suggest:
Palmer did not cause the public visibility of the trip.
The dismissal seems connected to public perception and Patel's frustration, not a documented procedural violation by Palmer.
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If you want, I can break down how ADS‑B public tracking works for federal aircraft and why most FBI jets are automatically visible, which explains why Palmer realistically couldn't have hidden the flights. This really clarifies the situation
The hypocrisy claim
Putting the two together leads to the accusation of hypocrisy:
Patel criticised Wray for what looked like using taxpayer‑funded jets for personal travel.
Now Patel, in his role as Director, is engaging in sorts of travel that look similar (at least in optics) to what he criticised.
Thus critics say: "You condemned it when someone else did it; now you're doing it."
The core of the hypocrisy claim is not necessarily that rules are broken, but that his public position and private behavior are inconsistent.
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This report was partially generated by ai, always verify