“Stephen A. Smith, the sports commentator, suggested that this was revenge from the president for all the kind of left-wing activism of the NBA,” she said to Patel. “Your response to that.”
“I’m the FBI director,” Patel replied. “I decide which arrests to conduct and which not to conduct. That may be the single dumbest thing I’ve ever heard out of anyone in modern history, and I live most of my time in Washington, D.C.”
Smith offered his take when news broke of the bust. He repeatedly said “Trump is coming” and called Patel’s press conference a “statement and it’s a warning that more is coming.”
“Don’t be surprised if the WNBA is next on [Trump’s] list, because when you got all of these protests that have been going out there and people that have been protesting against him and what have you, this man is coming,” Smith said. “To me, this is the latest nugget of evidence.”
Smith said he wasn’t questioning the legitimacy of the case, however. “We don’t know.”
Officials said the investigation has been in the works for years, which would predate the second Trump administration.
