FBI director suggests 'sheer incompetence' or 'negligence' in Biden admin handling of pipe bomb case

FBI Director Kash Patel on Thursday blasted the Biden administration for its handling of the investigation into who planted pipe bombs at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 5, 2021.

Patel told "Fox News @ Night Now" host Trace Gallagher that the prior administration "sat on" evidence for four years and failed to make a breakthrough in the case, whereas the FBI under his leadership incorporated cell phone geolocation data to hunt for the suspect.

"We went back and looked at the cellphone tower data dumps. We went back and looked at the providers and what information they provided pursuant to search warrants at the time and asked questions such as why weren't all the phone numbers scrubbed, why aren't they connected and why wasn't there any geolocational data done?" Patel said. "That is either sheer incompetence or complete intentional negligence - and neither of which is acceptable for this FBI."

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Patel was speaking just hours after the FBI arrested Brian Cole Jr., of Woodbridge, Va., for allegedly planting the two pipe bombs near the Republican and Democratic National Committees' headquarters around the same time that thousands of protesters a few blocks away began to storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, over the 2020 election results.

Patel argued the bureau under Biden failed at basic law enforcement functions.

"This guy… planted bombs at the United States Capitol on camera," Patel said. "And the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the prior four years couldn't find him. Completely unacceptable."

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Patel said investigators went back to "good cop basics" and combed through hundreds of tips and interviews to finally identify the suspect.

He said a key item in the investigation was the suspects' Nike sneakers, of which only a limited amount were ever made in the U.S.

"We, the FBI, have the best cellphone capability tracking systems, and we use that to say who was around the area that matches the description, the height, the weight, the size, and who was wearing this sort of sneakers," Patel said. "But on top of that, I can generally say that, you know, some of our biggest breakthroughs always come from cell phone analysis."

Patel said that it was important for investigators to build evidence that will be usable in a court of law.

"We can arrest anyone we want. But we worked with our partners at the Department of Justice, the attorney general and the U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, to leverage countless subpoenas and legal processes before we ever decided to hit the House, like we did this morning," Patel said. "And they hit the suspect's place of business."

Cole is charged with use of an explosive device, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Thursday. The FBI arrested Cole in northern Virginia. He will make his first court appearance on Friday in Washington, D.C.

Bondi echoed Patel's criticism of the prior administration and noted that the bombs Cole intended to use were real. 

WATCH: Pam Bondi credits good, old-fashioned police work for DC pipe bomb suspects arrest

"This case languished. It sat there for four years collecting dust. No one did anything to solve this," Bondi told "Fox & Friends" Friday. "Both bombs were real… and thankfully they didn't detonate."

She praised Patel and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino for reviving the case and keeping the new investigation under wraps until they were ready to make an arrest. She also stated that she expects more charges to be filed and did not reveal a motive.

"The entire investigation did not leak. It was kept quiet," she said. "They are pouring through evidence… hundreds of agents are on this case."

"They are poring through evidence. You saw hundreds of agents are on this case because this is a very dangerous person."

Fox News' Anders Hagstrom, David Spunt and Greg Wehner contributed to this report.