Washington DC - Kash Patel, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for director of the FBI, has sent a letter to a former White House aide, threatening legal action over remarks she made in an interview.

On Thursday, Olivia Troye – who served as Vice President Mike Pence's closest aide during Trump's first presidency – shared a letter from Patel's attorneys demanding she "publicly retract" comments she made during an interview with MSNBC that he claimed were "defamatory."

The attorneys took particular issue with Troye claiming that she witnessed Patel "lie" while he worked as Chief of Staff to the Secretary of Defense, to the point where he "put the lives of Navy SEALs at risk."

The letter called her claims "a complete fabrication" and accused her of lying "with the malicious intent of degrading his character and of cynical self-promotion."

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In an X post, Troye refused to retract her remarks, and said the country can expect more of this if he is appointed.

"This aligns with his threats against the media & political opponents, revealing how he might conduct himself if confirmed in the role," Troye wrote.

"I am not the only one who has expressed concerns about him. So why me?" she added. "And so it begins."

Patel has expressed interest in shutting down the FBI headquarters in Washington DC and has laid out plans to weed out "conspirators" in government and media if appointed.