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President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for FBI director, Kash Patel, vowed Tueday to restore trust and safeguard freedoms if confirmed to the post, following the release a Justice Department Inspector General report confirmed the agency spied on him when he was a congressional staffer. 

“This report highlights exactly why Kash Patel is the perfect leader to reform and rebuild the FBI. Kash understands the critical balance between national security and protecting civil liberties. His commitment to accountability, transparency, and upholding constitutional principles makes him uniquely equipped to ensure the FBI serves the American people with integrity and fairness,” Patel spokeswoman Erica Knight told Just the News in a statement. 

“Kash will work hand-in-hand with Congress to restore trust and safeguard our freedoms,” she also said.

The report, released by DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz, found the agency obtained phone records from the two members of Congress and 43 staff members. One of those staffers was Patel, who worked for then-Congressman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., on the House Intelligence Committee. 

The department initiated the probe to investigate leaks to the media of FBI classified information as part of the now-discredited Trump-Russia probe which had recently been shared with Congress.

Horowitz found that the Justice Department, in filings with the court, did not reference “the fact that they related to requests for records of Members of Congress or congressional staffers,” despite implicating constitutional separation of powers between two government branches, Just the News reported.