FBI Director Kash Patel failed to disclose a six-figure stock purchase for six months, potentially violating a federal ethics law designed to prevent conflicts of interest among senior government officials, according to financial records reviewed by NOTUS.
Patel purchased between $100,001 and $250,000 worth of MicroStrategy stock on Nov. 21, 2025 but did not report the transaction until May 26. In a letter to the Office of Government Ethics, he said the purchase had been “inadvertently omitted” from an earlier financial disclosure.
The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, or STOCK Act, requires senior executive branch officials to disclose stock trades exceeding $1,000 within 45 days. Patel’s filing came roughly six months after the purchase, well beyond the legal deadline. First-time violations carry a $200 civil penalty.
MicroStrategy’s ties to the Justice Department
MicroStrategy has received millions of dollars in Justice Department business over the years, according to NOTUS. Because the FBI is part of the Justice Department, Patel’s investment has raised questions about a potential conflict of interest.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General William Taylor defended Patel in a letter to the Office of Government Ethics.
“I continue to believe that Director Patel is in compliance with applicable laws and regulations governing conflicts of interest,” Taylor wrote, attributing the late filing to a “miscommunication.”
An FBI official familiar with the matter told NOTUS the delayed disclosure “was not realized and unintentional.” The official also said the Justice Department, which has authority to impose or waive STOCK Act penalties, had not fined Patel at the time of reporting.
Watchdog group pushes back
Government watchdogs challenged that defense.
Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, acting vice president of the Project on Government Oversight, told NOTUS the filing clearly violated the STOCK Act.
“That’s violating the law — no other way to put it,” Hedtler-Gaudette said.
In a statement to NOTUS, the FBI said Patel submitted an amended disclosure after discovering the omission and that the filing has since been approved by a Justice Department ethics official.
Background on the trade and the company
Financial records reviewed by NOTUS show Patel has continued trading individual stocks while serving as FBI director.
MicroStrategy, now branded simply as Strategy, has focused on accumulating bitcoin as its primary reserve asset since 2020. The company is led by Michael Saylor, a longtime friend of Eric Trump and a prominent supporter of the Trump administration within the cryptocurrency industry.
President Donald Trump and his older sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, have become increasingly involved in the cryptocurrency sector. The Trump family has reportedly earned more than $1 billion from crypto-related ventures over the past year.