Disclaimer: I'm not trying to argue with you, I'm just trying to wrap my head around this.

I get that it shifts it from being an immediate disqualifier. But then we're right back to the issue at the start. A "yes" to that question means there has been a conviction. And while yes, the system gets things wrong all the time, especially given the example you cite, why are they specifically making this carve out for beastiality? Like you said, people were wrongfully convicted of terrorism for attending protests. There are plenty of felony convictions that can be incorrect or unjustified or biased. And I'm assuming those felony convictions would also be an immediate disqualifier for employment at the FBI. So it's really weird for them to act like beastiality is a unique charge where these sorts of things can happen . Which makes the whole excuse bullshit.

There's a cognitive dissonance here that I just can't explain away as anything other than just blatant excuses with no real basis. If the argument is that sometimes convictions can be wrong and there can be extenuating circumstances, then that should be applied wholesale. And there shouldn't be any immediate disqualifiers without having a discussion with the candidate. If they're willing to accept convictions for other crimes as gospel because the judgement came from the system, then the same should apply to beastiality.

The fact that this specific carve out is being made (I know that there are other guidelines being relaxed as well, but it's not across the board, they are choosing a handful of specific things) really does just make it seem like no matter what justifications Patel provides he really just does support/like/excuse beastiality.