What a 'deep state' investigation could look like if Kash Patel becomes FBI director

Trump loyalist Kash Patel is President-elect's choice to become FBI director.

He has said the FBI 's investigation of alleged ties between Trump and Russia was such a "criminal enterprise" that it "drowns Watergate " He says current and former U.S. officials who he claims orchestrated " Russia Gate " should be prosecuted.

Multiple official inquiries have not supported the grand claims Patel and other Trump allies have made.

The Justice Department's inspector general says there were "fundamental errors" and significant "failures" in the FBI probe of alleged ties to Russia .

But the inspector general's report found no evidence that "political bias or improper motivation influenced" the investigation.

In some interviews, Patel has said as many as 20 people -- inside and outside of government -- need to be scrutinized.

Patel has called for a "comprehensive housecleaning" at the Justice Department and overhaul of the FBI .

He has also suggested that members of the media should be targeted for investigation.

Many -- if not all -- of those referenced by Patel have denied any wrongdoing.