White House officials ‘openly discuss’ firing Kash Patel as FBI chief threatens to sue over report about ‘excessive drinking’

NewsWorldAmericasUS politicsWhite House officials ‘openly discuss’ firing Kash Patel as FBI chief threatens to sue over report about ‘excessive drinking’Sarah Fitzpatrick, the reporter behind the bombshell exposé about Kash Patel’s alleged conduct, said she stands by her story after he threatened to sueRhian Lubin in New York & Josh MarcusSaturday 18 April 2026 19:35 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":"b2960378","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/kash-patel-alcohol-fbi-mess-firing-the-atlantic-b2960378.html","title":"White House officials ‘openly discuss’ firing FBI director Kash Patel, reporter says"}}CloseBombshell magazine report claims FBI director is paranoid and drinks excessivelySign 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...