FBI Director Kash Patel recently appeared on Sean Hannity’s podcast where he appeared to criticize the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and Sheriff Chris Nanos’ handling of the investigation into Nancy Guthrie’s suspected abduction.

“In the Nancy Guthrie case, I got frustrated because I knew from my sources — they were trying to keep you guys out,” Hannity said.

“They did,” Patel replied.

Patel acknowledged that the Sheriff’s Department had jurisdiction as the lead investigating agency in the matter, and the FBI offered its support.

“And for four days we were kept out of the investigation,” Patel said.

Nancy Guthrie, the mother of “Today” cohost Savannah Guthrie, is suspected of being abducted from her Catalina Foothills home north of Tucson in the early morning of Feb. 1.

Patel said once the Sheriff’s Department allowed the FBI to assist in the investigation, it was able to obtain the footage from Guthrie’s Google Nest camera — though Patel mistakenly referred to it as a Ring camera — which captured video of a masked man believed to have abducted Guthrie from her home.

Patel alleged that, had the FBI gotten involved in the investigation sooner, that video would have been released closer to Guthrie’s abduction and potentially recovered more footage from Google’s servers as Guthrie wasn’t part of a paid subscription service that stores videos and images for longer periods.

Hannity, appearing incredulous, then asked Patel why the Sheriff’s Department didn’t ask for the FBI’s help.

“Why did they send the DNA to a lab in Florida and not Quantico?” Hannity asked, in reference to the Sheriff’s Department sending DNA evidence to a private lab it used rather than the FBI’s own lab.

“I had a fixed-wing aircraft on the ground, ready to move it immediately through the night,” Patel told Hannity.

“Did they just say ‘no’?” Hannity asks.

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Patel replied that the Sheriff’s Department told him it was sending the evidence to Florida and began making another comment when Hannity tried to reconfirm the Sheriff’s Department had jurisdiction.

“They have jurisdiction, so it’s their call,” Patel said.

“Bad call,” Hannity retorted.

“Well, that’s for the American public to decide,” Patel replied.

Sheriff’s Department says FBI was involved from the beginning

The Sheriff’s Department told The Arizona Republic that Nanos was aware of Patel’s statements and asserted that the FBI became involved from the investigation’s nascency.

“Sheriff Nanos responded to the scene the night of the incident, providing immediate local leadership and oversight,” Sheriff’s Department spokesperson Brittany Abarr said. “A member of the FBI Task Force was also notified and present at that scene working alongside our personnel. The FBI was promptly notified by both our department and the Guthrie family. While the FBI Director was not on scene, coordination with the Bureau began without delay.”

Abarr added that the Sheriff’s Department’s decision to send DNA evidence to a Florida lab was based on “operational needs.”

“The laboratory utilized by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI Laboratory in Quantico have worked in close partnership from the outset and continue to collaborate in the analysis of evidence,” Abarr said. “We remain committed to a thorough, coordinated, and fact-based investigation and will continue working closely with our federal partners as the process moves forward.”

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Patel’s comments came after the Pima County Board of Supervisors scrutinized Nanos for misrepresenting his history as a young police officer in El Paso in a sworn deposition, a radio interview and on his public résumé.

The sheriff’s lawyer challenged questions about Nanos’ discipline history in El Paso because, in his view, they are “unrelated” to his duties as sheriff and did not fall under the board’s purview.

“The Sheriff’s minimal disciplinary history is irrelevant to the performance of his official duties,” Nanos attorney James Cool wrote.

Republic reporter Stephanie Murray contributed to this article.

Reach the reporter Perry Vandell at perry.vandell@arizonarepublic.com or 480-341-9433. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @PerryVandell.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kash Patel says Arizona sheriff kept FBI out of Guthrie investigation