FBI Director Kash Patel late discloses MicroStrategy stock

FBI Director Kash Patel failed to timely disclose a six-figure stock purchase in a company that holds billions of dollars in Bitcoin, a lapse that government watchdogs say violates federal ethics law. Patel purchased between $100,001 and $250,000 worth of shares in MicroStrategy on November 21, 2025, but did not report the transaction to regulators until May 26, 2026, well past the 45-day deadline mandated by the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act.

Patel attributed the delay to an unspecified miscommunication, stating in a letter to the Office of Government Ethics that he had inadvertently omitted the transaction from a previously filed disclosure. An FBI official familiar with the matter described the late reporting as unintentional.

The purchase has drawn scrutiny due to MicroStrategy's business profile and its ties to the federal government. The company, which describes itself as a Bitcoin Treasury Company, has accumulated over 847,000 Bitcoin and has done millions of dollars in business with the Department of Justice, the parent agency of the FBI. The FBI itself investigates cryptocurrency fraud, and Patel has publicly praised the bureau's efforts in that arena.