FBI Director Kash Patel sues The Atlantic claiming false reporting about drinking, absences

Director of the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Kash Patel, filed a defamation lawsuit against American magazine The Atlantic and its reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick following the publication of an article on Friday alleging the director had a drinking problem that could pose a threat to national security.

The magazine’s story, initially titled ‘Kash Patel’s Erratic Behavior Could Cost Him His Job’, cited more than two dozen anonymous sources expressing concern at Patel’s alleged conspicuous inebriation and unexplained absences that alarmed officials at the FBI and the Department of Justice.

The article, which The Atlantic subsequently titled ‘The FBI Director Is MIA’ in its online version, alleged that the FBI had to reschedule early meetings as a result of Patel’s alcohol-fuelled nights and that he is often away or unreachable, delaying time-sensitive decisions needed to advance investigations.

In The Atlantic’s story, the White House, the Department of Justice and Patel denied the allegations. The article included a statement from the FBI attributed to Patel, saying: “Print it, all false, I’ll see you in court, bring your checkbook.”

Patel rejected the claims made in the article.

The Atlantic’s story is a lie, Patel claimed in an interview with Reuters. “They were given the truth before they published, and they chose to print falsehoods anyway.”

After Patel threatened to sue the publication on Sunday in an appearance on Fox News, The Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg said in a statement to CNBC, “We stand by our reporting on Kash Patel.”

Reuters could not independently establish the accuracy of The Atlantic’s article or why the publication changed the title. The Atlantic and Fitzpatrick could not be immediately reached for comment.

Patel’s complaint says that while The Atlantic is free to criticise the leadership of the FBI, they crossed the legal line by publishing an article “replete with false and obviously fabricated allegations designed to destroy Director Patel’s reputation and drive him from office”.

The lawsuit, filed in US District Court for the District of Columbia, seeks $250 million in damages.

The lawsuit alleges The Atlantic ignored the FBI’s denials and did not respond to a Friday letter from Patel’s lawyer, Jesse Binnall, to senior editors and The Atlantic’s legal department, asking for more time to refute the 19 allegations the reporter told the FBI’s press office she would be publishing.

Reuters could not establish how or if The Atlantic responded to Binnall’s request.

The lawsuit alleges the publication acted with actual malice, a legal standard that requires public figures such as Patel to show the publisher knowingly printed false information or recklessly ignored doubts about its accuracy.

The lawsuit says defendants’ conscious decision to ignore the detailed, specific, and substantive refutations in the Pre-Publication Letter, and their refusal to give a reasonable amount of time for the FBI and Director Patel to respond, is among the strongest possible evidence of actual malice.

The lawsuit is the latest instance of a Trump administration figure suing a media outlet.

A judge earlier dismissed Trump’s lawsuit against CNN for describing election denialism as the “big lie”.

Judges also dismissed Trump’s lawsuits against the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Trump has refiled his lawsuit against the New York Times and may refile against the Wall Street Journal.

He has also secured some settlements. ABC News agreed to settle a case for $15m plus $1m in legal fees. Paramount Global agreed to pay $16m for what the Trump administration called deceptive editing of a CBS News interview with his opponent in the 2024 election, Kamala Harris.