Kash Patel files $250M defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic over ‘hit piece’ on his FBI leadership

NewsWorldAmericasUS politicsKash Patel files $250M defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic over ‘hit piece’ on his FBI leadershipFBI director accuses magazine and journalist of ‘sweeping, malicious and defamatory hit piece’Alex Woodward in New York Monday 20 April 2026 15:43 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b2961177","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/kash-patel-fbi-atlantic-lawsuit-b2961177.html","title":"Kash Patel files $250M defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic"}}CloseKash Patel vows to file defamation lawsuit against The AtlanticSign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inboxGet our free Inside Washington emailGet our free Inside Washington emailEmail*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice{"className":"sc-1ge0fwe-0","newsletterData":{"regSourceNewsletter":"IND_INSIDE_WASHINGTON","regTitle":"Inside Washington","subscriptionGroup":"inside_washington","subscriptionGroupId":"af764e04-87eb-45e6-a84b-a7455ba70a1e","type":"inside_washington","pathPrefix":"/news/world/americas/us-politics","associatedAuthors":["Eric Garcia","John Bowden"],"title":"Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox","mobileTitle":"Get our free Inside Washington email","imageSrc":"https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/images/newsletters/insideWashington1_1.png","label":"I would like to receive morning headlines Monday - Friday plus breaking news alerts by email","newsletterKey":"receiveInsideWashingtonNews","regSourceSection":"US politics","regSourceMethod":"NSCs"},"isClimate":false}FBI director Kash Patel...