Bulwark Takes – Episode Summary

Episode: Kash Patel SNAPS at Reporter on Live TV
Date: April 24, 2026
Host: Sam Stein
Guest: Will Sommer (Author, False Flag Newsletter)

Episode Overview

This episode of Bulwark Takes dives into a chaotic DOJ press conference where Cash Patel, a prominent Trump-era figure, loses his composure with a reporter, and the subsequent right-wing media response. The show also explores the indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), examining both the substance of DOJ allegations and the controversies swirling around Cash Patel – including his use of the FBI in response to reporting about his girlfriend. Throughout, host Sam Stein and guest Will Sommer pull apart legal, journalistic, and political layers of these evolving stories.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Press Conference Fireworks: Cash Patel’s Outburst

Timestamp: 03:07 – 04:02

• Incident: During a DOJ press conference announcing the indictment of the SPLC for wire/bank fraud, Cash Patel was pressed by reporter Ryan Reilly about an Atlantic article alleging he was locked out of his computer and possibly drinking on the job.
• Patel’s Response: He evaded giving a direct answer, calling the report “an absolute lie” and accusing reporters of asking “baseless questions.”
• Quote:
  • Cash Patel: “The problem with you and your baseless reporting is that is an absolute lie. It was never said. It never happened. … Every time you guys report false lies, every time you guys raise baseless questions. When we are here to talk about the Southern Poverty Law Center’s $3 million decade long scheme … you are off topic.” (03:11)
  • “Simple answer to your question is you are lying. … I was never locked out of my systems. Anybody who says the opposite … is lying.” (03:43)
• Analysis:
  • Will Sommer: “He’s doing the non denial denial … saying, you know, ‘My answer is you’re a liar.’” (04:38)
  • Sam Stein: “It is a classic non denial. You’re a liar about what? I mean, it could be … I just want to know about this one.” (05:17)
• Media Reactions: Right-wing coverage praised Patel for putting the reporter “in his place.”

2. Explaining the Southern Poverty Law Center Indictment

Timestamp: 06:27 – 11:29

• Background: SPLC is a major liberal nonprofit known for tracking hate groups and litigating against extremists. Its methods and characterization of hate groups have long been flashpoints for conservative criticism.
• Indictment Details:
  • SPLC is charged with wire fraud, bank fraud, and making false statements.
  • The DOJ claims SPLC paid informants to infiltrate hate groups, and that these payments may have inadvertently supported extremist activities such as the 2017 Charlottesville rally.
• Key Details & Quotes:
  • Sam Stein: “It’s a bit of a logical leap, right? … The allegation … is that because the money the Southern Poverty Law Center sent to this informant, who then … helped organize the rally … [they] financed part of the rally.” (09:41)
  • Will Sommer: “It’s not as though they, according to the DOJ, they didn’t say. They cut a check and said, here, buy a couple Amtrak tickets … It’s just that this person was getting the money, and then we don’t even know what coordinate transportation means.” (10:37)
• Discussion of Donor Fraud:
  • The DOJ argues donors were defrauded if their money was used to sustain hate groups, even if SPLC’s intent was infiltration.
  • Will Sommer: “The amount … is something like 0.3% … in a year, 0.3% of the donations they received. … If you told [donors], hey, we’re using this money to pay an informant … I think they’d say, yeah.” (13:01)
• Legality & Ethics of Paying Informants:
  • Common investigative practice, but ethically murky when done by non-law enforcement.
  • SPLC used shell corporations to obscure payments; when confronted by banks, disclosed these were fronts, now used as evidence against them. (14:58)
• Exposure of Informant Identities:
  • Will Sommer: “It’s really easy using just a couple SPLC articles and this indictment to figure out who these [informants] are. … It would put a chilling effect on anyone who might want to inform on one of these organizations.” (15:32)

3. Right-Wing Media and SPLC: The “Charlottesville was All a Setup” Narrative

Timeline: 16:28 – 17:45

• Reaction: The right celebrates the indictment, viewing it as vindication against a long-hated liberal watchdog. Some take it further, claiming (without evidence) that SPLC orchestrated the Charlottesville rally.
• Notable Commentary:
  • Will Sommer: “So for them, they get to say Charlottesville was all fake. The SPLC, they were the puppet master behind it all. And that’s not even in the indictment. I mean, it’s a real exaggeration there.” (16:41)
• Dissonance Among Extremists:
  • Will Sommer notes publicly-identified white nationalist figures are angry at the suggestion that they were SPLC “plants.”

4. FBI, Journalists, and Patel’s “Personal” Use of Federal Power

Timeline: 17:45 – 23:58

• New Development: NYT reports FBI agents looked into reporter Elizabeth Williamson after she covered Patel’s girlfriend, Alexis Wilkins—a “country music sensation,” per Patel. Wilkins has received death threats and been assigned FBI protection detail.
• Scrutiny of Reporting Methods:
  • The FBI questioned whether Williamson’s reporting “crossed into stalking” after Wilkins claimed harassment. But FBI found no wrongdoing by the reporter.
  • Sam Stein (quoting FBI statement): “‘While investigators were concerned about how the aggressive reporting techniques crossed lines of stalking, no further action … was ever pursued.’ So even in the statement … they are kind of implicitly acknowledging … they viewed the reporting as crossing the lines into stalking, which is crazy.” (20:32)
• Patel’s Fox News Defense:
  • Patel, on Hannity, asserts: “The reality is … the same report delivered a baseless story which caused a direct threat of life to my girlfriend. … We are going to protect not only me and my loved ones, but every American that is threatened.” (21:35)
• Critique from Hosts:
  • Sam Stein: “No one should make light of [death threats] … but some of that stuff that Patel is saying there is just not factually true. They did include the info.” (22:24)
  • Will Sommer: “This is not the first time we’ve seen Cash sort of use the FBI to pursue his personal enemies.” (23:58)

5. Reporter Reflections & Media Clout

Timeline: 24:16 – End

• Irony: Will Sommer jokes about being jealous that the FBI hasn’t looked into him after his own reporting on Patel, reflecting on the awkward spotlight journalists sometimes find themselves under.
• Sign-off and Event Plugs: Hosts encourage listeners to subscribe and attend live Bulwark events.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Cash Patel evading reporter questions:
  • “Simple answer to your question is you are lying.” (03:43)
• Sam Stein on media conduct:
  • “You’re being extraordinarily rude and I know maybe that’s part of your profession, but please just stop.” (04:02)
• On SPLC’s “hate group” list:
  • Will Sommer: “Is it fair to have one big list that includes James Lindsay … with someone who’s the exalted Cyclops of a KKK chapter? Probably not.” (07:54)
• Ethics of paid informants:
  • Will Sommer: “Part of the reason, as journalists, we don’t do it is … what incentives are you creating, but it also just gets … financially pretty complex.” (14:15)
• On right-wing joy at the SPLC indictment:
  • Will Sommer: “They want to use … the power of the state to crush your enemies.” (16:41)
• On exposure of informants:
  • Will Sommer: “It would put a chilling effect on anyone who might want to inform on one of these organizations, whether it’s to a nonprofit like the SPLC or to the FBI themselves.” (15:32)
• On FBI investigating a NYT reporter:
  • Sam Stein: “Generally disregarding what reporters are supposed to do.” (20:32)
  • Will Sommer: “This is not the first time we’ve seen Cash sort of use the FBI to pursue his personal enemies.” (23:58)

Important Timestamps

• 03:07 — Cash Patel’s exchange with Ryan Reilly
• 06:27 — Explanation of SPLC’s history & relevance
• 09:01 — DOJ’s case against SPLC, indictment details
• 13:01 — Discussion of donor fraud logic
• 14:58 — How SPLC paid informants and legal implications
• 15:32 — Informant identities potentially exposed
• 16:41 — Right-wing narratives about Charlottesville
• 20:32 — Details of FBI’s inquiry into NYT reporting on Patel’s girlfriend
• 21:35 — Patel’s Hannity appearance and defense
• 23:58 — History of Patel allegedly using FBI to target critics
• 24:16 — Hosts reflect on media scrutiny and public attention

Conclusion

This episode peels back the spectacle of a headline-generating DOJ press conference to spotlight the evolving weaponization of institutions, the legal and ethical ambiguities of informant operations, shifting right-wing narratives, and the precarious space journalists must navigate when holding power to account. Sam Stein and Will Sommer balance wry humor with insight as they probe what these stories signal about the contemporary American political-media environment.