FBI Director Kash Patel was enduring yet another round of negative headlines in October about his frequent use of the FBI's private jet – this time to see his girlfriend sing the national anthem at a freestyle wrestling event in State College, Pennsylvania.

An FBI spokesman pushed back on the criticism, citing federal regulations requiring the FBI director to fly on government aircraft. But the most passionate retort came from a little-known FBI media adviser who has emerged as one of Patel's fiercest public defenders and promoters of the FBI under his leadership. 

"Shaming a woman the Director has happily dated for nearly three years is pathetic and, frankly, disgusting," Erica Knight wrote on X. "Hot take – when someone's arrested 28,000 violent criminals and taken millions in drugs off the streets, maybe we can also support their happiness."   

It was a heartfelt but strikingly personal response from a law enforcement agency known for its buttoned-up communications style. But Knight is not the typical government spokeswoman. She's Patel's friend and longtime personal publicist, hired earlier this year to help shake up the bureau's communications strategy. She's also amplified the director's public messaging and touted what the FBI leadership sees as its successes.

In one testament to their friendship, shortly after he was sworn in as FBI director, Patel posted a picture of himself in the Oval Office with Knight and wrote on X: "I have been truly blessed to have the best captain and teammate @_ericaKnight – she has been there since day 1, without her I would not be in this position today. She is the best publicist in America, an absolute force."

Glowing public testimonials like this have left some current and former FBI agents questioning Knight's taxpayer-funded role, especially since the FBI already has a sprawling media department. 

Those questions have surfaced amid growing concerns inside the agency. Two bureau sources tell CBS News that they believe Patel is using public resources in ways that push the boundaries of traditionally accepted FBI practice. Beyond the trips to visit his girlfriend, Patel has used FBI aircraft to go to sporting events — a golf outing in Scotland with friends and a trip to a private hunting reserve in Texas owned by the family of a GOP donor. 

He's also been slammed by critics for assigning FBI SWAT agents to protect his girlfriend, country music performer Alexis Wilkins, at taxpayer expense. (Wilkins has said she has been the target of multiple death threats since Patel became FBI director.) 

FBI officials say Patel reimburses the government for his personal flights and point out that federal regulations require him to use government aircraft for both personal and official travel. Nevertheless, Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, recently announced a probe into Patel's use of public resources and is demanding he turn over documents related to the trips. 

Now, Raskin tells CBS News, he has questions about Patel's PR arrangement with Knight. Raskin has called on the FBI to disclose how much she is being paid. 

"Why should an FBI Director have to hire a taxpayer-funded PR fixer to spin away public criticism," Raskin said in an email to CBS News. "And if there's nothing to hide, then the bureau should have no problem releasing Ms. Knight's contract, showing exactly how much the American taxpayers are paying for her crisis PR services."  

FBI officials vigorously push back against the criticism, maintaining that Knight's job is not about tending to Patel's personal PR. Rather, they say she works closely in tandem with the Office of Public Affairs to promote the bureau's broader mission. In an interview with CBS News, a senior FBI official who asked not to be named called the notion that she serves only the director "entirely false." 

"She is not a PR representative for the director," the official said. "She does specific work related to FBI communications." 

Still, a number of news outlets, including the New Yorker, CNN, Scripps News and Fox News, identified Knight in their reports as Patel's spokesperson or his adviser. 

Inside the agency, speculation about how much she's being paid has been widespread. Typically, such contracts are public, but the agency declined a request from CBS News for details of Knight's compensation, and Knight, in an interview, also declined to disclose information about her salary.

"The FBI absolutely needs to be more forward-leaning and transparent in terms of its communications," said Chris O'Leary, a former senior FBI agent. "But Patel appears to be putting the spotlight on himself, rather than on the institution – at taxpayer expense." 

Federal salaries are typically public information. Knight, who works from outside of Washington, is not a federal employee but rather a contractor – an arrangement that makes it harder to determine her actual compensation. Her direct employer is Xpect Solutions, a technology and security services firm. The FBI has been a long-time customer of Xpect Solutions, and sources familiar with the arrangement say Knight's salary is paid to the company out of the FBI Office of Public Affairs budget. Xpect Solutions did not respond to a request for comment about Knight's employment.

Ben Williamson, the FBI's assistant director for public affairs, told CBS News that Knight's contract with the FBI is "entirely consistent with procurement rules and ethical guidelines, and any suggestion otherwise from CBS or elsewhere says more about their lack of basic research than it does anything else."

Williamson said he and Knight, who reports both to him and Patel, speak daily. He described her as "a valuable member of our press and communications office and one of the best operatives I've worked with in a decade."

Patel met Knight after he left the first Trump administration in 2021 – the two were introduced by a mutual friend, according to a source familiar with the relationship. Knight was a publicist and crisis communications specialist with a growing client list; and Patel was on a mission to raise his profile.  

With Knight's help, Patel flooded the media with cable news and podcast appearances, lucrative speeches and book events, all aimed at cheering on the MAGA agenda and defending Donald Trump. 

The effort helped put him on the short list for FBI director, and when he was selected to the post, Knight came along.

Since joining the government PR team, Knight has become a relentless champion of her client, touting the FBI's law-and-order accomplishments ("President Trump's administration and Director Patel's FBI are dismantling the cartels and crushing the fentanyl crisis," she posted on X last month).

In some ways, the role is not new – the FBI has long had a vast PR operation — one FBI source said there are well over 150  staff in the bureau's office of public affairs, with 60 or so working out of headquarters in Washington and the rest in the bureau's 56 field offices. J. Edgar Hoover's vaunted publicity machine occupied a whole wing of bureau headquarters. 

For his part, Robert Mueller, a former FBI director, Marine and federal prosecutor, had little time for mingling with reporters and had no social media presence. 

James Comey, according to one of his advisers, believed more public engagement was critical to restoring trust in the FBI. Comey hired a law professor and friend, Daniel Richman, as a special government employee who worked on multiple projects for Comey, among them, interacting occasionally with reporters on sensitive investigations.

Patel's immediate predecessor as FBI director, Christopher Wray, was so reticent about putting himself in the spotlight that agents often grumbled that he wasn't aggressive enough in defending the bureau. One close adviser alleged that he regularly admonished agents, "Be a workhorse, not a show horse." 

Knight, in an interview, said the FBI's more aggressive public PR strategy aligns with Patel's avowed efforts to be a disruptor at the hidebound agency. 

"Kash and [co-Deputy Director] Dan [Bongiono] were not hired to do business as usual," Knight said in an interview. "They wanted to change the way things were done, help make the American people safe, and restore trust in the FBI. I don't think you can do that without communicating." 

Those who have interacted with her say Knight is skilled at cultivating relationships with reporters covering Patel. She has a reputation for being responsive to their questions and providing accurate information, even as she pushes for more favorable coverage of Patel.

Her close relationship and direct access to Patel allow her to channel his views or get his personal reaction to the stories they're working on. One reporter called her "the Kash whisperer."  

Knight, according to sources familiar with her role, works with Williamson to draft statements under Patel's name, and his talking points for interviews and his posts on X, where he remains a prolific poster. 

Knight has represented other clients in the MAGA world, too.  

"Erica is a powerhouse," said Alina Habba, who until recently had been serving as acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey, but stepped down after a federal appeals court ruled that she was unlawfully appointed. Habba hired Knight when she was serving as a private defense lawyer for Donald Trump. Even before Patel completes his first year in the job, supporters and critics say it is hard to dispute the notion that he has been a disruptor, for better or worse.

Patel's supporters say he's dragging the FBI into a new media age, one dominated by social media. And for that, Erica Knight has been there for every step — and every social media post.