AMNA NAWAZ: The FBI director, Kash Patel, is under fire after videos of him chugging a beer and celebrating with the men's U.S.

hockey team in Italy yesterday were obtained by multiple news outlets.

The FBI had previously argued Patel's trip to Italy was for official travel.

But critics are now questioning the optics of his visit amid broader questions about his leadership at the bureau.

Patel pushed back on his critics saying in a post on X that he was -- quote -- "extremely humbled" when the team invited him to celebrate its gold medal win.

For more on this, I'm joined now by Asha Rangappa.

She's a former FBI agent, now a lecturer at Yale University.

Asha, it's good to see you.

So, as you know, the U.S.

does have an official presence at the Olympics.

We have seen the Vice President Vance and his family at ceremonies and events.

But what did you make of this locker room video of the FBI director in particular?

ASHA RANGAPPA, Former FBI Special Agent: Well, Amna, there's a leftover mantra from the Hoover days in the bureau, which goes never embarrass the bureau.

And that was the guiding principle for us when we were out in public, whenever we were interfacing with anyone.

And I think that applies here.

The director was ostensibly out there for official business.

I think officials go to a big event like the Olympics.

I think the issue here is the decorum of partying it up with the team, if you will.

I think it can lend itself to a perception that maybe this is not someone who's taking his role seriously or not taking his job seriously.

AMNA NAWAZ: I just want to underscore something you're saying here, because we have heard from the FBI, them making this point, that he was there for official meetings.

And we did see the U.S.

ambassador to Italy today post some pictures of himself with Kash Patel, saying -- thanking him for meeting with embassy team and with their Italian counterpart.

So is this a situation where both can be true?

He was there for official meetings and also went to events and then ended up in the locker room celebrating in this way?

ASHA RANGAPPA: Yes, I think both things can be true.

I'm not familiar with the specifics of the director's schedule, but the FBI does have a global presence.

And there are legal attaches in the U.S.

embassies around the world.

And there may be reasons for the director to go to those embassies and to meet with other intelligence officials in other countries as well.

So that may be very well a part of his official duties.

So I think that should be separated from -- and I think even attending the Olympics is not necessarily -- officials are allowed to have hobbies and go to go to events.

I think what is really the question here is kind of the -- as I mentioned before, the decorum.

AMNA NAWAZ: There's also the question that's been raised about his use of this taxpayer-funded aircraft, right?

We know he previously criticized his predecessor's travel in the same way.

He's now facing similar criticism amid questions.

Last year, there were some questions about him allegedly using the FBI jet to see his girlfriend perform.

Just for folks unfamiliar, why does the FBI director have the use of this jet?

And how do you separate out personal and professional obligations?

ASHA RANGAPPA: Well, the director has the jet to enable him to be secure, to be able to go to official business, basically, whether it's in the country or around the world.

The FBI is a small-C conservative organization.

It tends to be frugal.

And I think most directors have tried to be judicious when using taxpayer resources.

Definitely, as a rank-and-file agent, that is the ethos that is handed down to you.

The one director, William Sessions, who did kind of abuse FBI resources for his personal use, was actually investigated internally by the Office of Professional Responsibility.

And, Amna, I think that's an important point here is that normally these kinds of questions would be addressed through an internal investigation by OPR, the Office of Professional Responsibility, possibly by an inspector general investigation.

But the inspector generals are not really operating in the way that they were before.

And it's not clear to me whether even OPR is operating.

So the normal way that this would have been addressed is not -- we're not necessarily seeing it now.

AMNA NAWAZ: Asha, in the minute or so we have left, I mean, you have worked inside the bureau.

In your view, what kind of message do you feel that this director is sending about the direction overall of the bureau right now?

ASHA RANGAPPA: I think that, for where the bureau is right now, what we have seen is hundreds of agents who've resigned or have been fired for simply doing their jobs, people who have left for being asked to do things that they don't want to do.

For example, the special adage in charge of the Atlanta field office resigned a week before the search warrant application was submitted to Fulton County.

All of these things that -- the reallocation of resources to immigration and two things that the FBI doesn't normally do, missteps in investigations, like the Charlie Kirk murder, when things were announced and had to backtrack, all of those take a toll on agents, who really rely on public trust and for people to see them as being highly competent and trustworthy in what they do.

So this last event I don't think will help that situation at all.

AMNA NAWAZ: That is former FBI agent Asha Rangappa now at Yale University.

Asha, thank you for your time.

We appreciate it.

ASHA RANGAPPA: Thank you.