US Senate Democrats accused FBI Director Kash Patel of abusing his position as head of the law enforcement agency to intimidate journalists.

Patel angrily rejected the allegations during a fiery Senate Judiciary Committee hearing and lauded the FBI’s record in reducing violent crime, fighting drug trafficking and prosecuting fraud.

Patel and several Democratic senators traded sharply personal attacks during the combative four-and-a-half-hour hearing.

“Like a thug, you’re using your agency to go after reporters,” said Senator Cory Booker, a Democrat from New Jersey.

“Reporters wrote about the president and your bureau went to their homes and subpoenaed their mothers.

“A reporter wrote about you and your bureau ran her name through records and began an investigation,” Booker added.

The FBI director said it was a “total lie” that he had used FBI resources to target reporters.

Mr Patel filed a $250 million (€216m) suit in April against The Atlantic magazine and the author of an article he called a “defamatory hit piece.”

The Atlantic story accused Mr Patel of frequently drinking to excess and said he was in danger of losing his job as FBI director.

According to the cable news channel MS Now, the FBI launched a so-called “insider threat investigation” into the Atlantic story.

Since taking over as the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Mr Patel has been accused of carrying out a purge of agents perceived as being disloyal to President Donald Trump.

Among those dismissed have been scores of agents who worked on criminal cases brought against Mr Trump after he left the White House in 2021.

Asked by senators about the wave of departures, Mr Patel said “there was no purging” and the vast majority of the agents who left retired voluntarily.

The hearing also featured a series of bizarre exchanges over the FBI’s decision to lift restrictions on hiring of applicants who have engaged in prostitution or bestiality.

“The FBI has lowered its hiring standards by dropping automatic disqualification for applicants who have stolen from prior employers, paid for sex, or engaged in bestiality,” said Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois.

Mr Patel said this refers to applicants who were victims, not perpetrators.

“Applicants who have engaged in bestiality means they were victims of bestiality because they were forced to do so,” he said. “We did not want to punish victims of bestiality, victims who were trafficked.”

The FBI director also raised concerns among Democrats by declining to rule out sending agents to polling places during the November midterm elections.

“Election integrity is of paramount importance,” he said. “This FBI is not going to shy away from that effort.”