FBI Director Kash Patel sued The Atlantic for $250 million Monday, three days after the magazine published a story portraying him as erratic, frequently absent from work and at times visibly intoxicated.
The article examined the conduct of the nation’s top FBI official during a period of heightened national-security pressure. The Atlantic also reported the White House had already discussed possible replacements for Patel and that he feared his job was at risk.
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Patel’s lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, said he wants to hold the magazine and the article’s author, Sarah Fitzpatrick, “accountable for a sweeping, malicious and defamatory hit piece.”
“Defendants are of course free to criticize the leadership of the FBI,” the suit says, “but they crossed a 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.”
What The Atlantic reported
Published on Friday, the article relied on more than 24 sources, including current and former FBI officials, staff from other law-enforcement and intelligence agencies, members of Congress and hospitality-industry employees.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive topics, they described Patel’s behavior as a national-security vulnerability.
The sources cited instances of Patel’s severe alcohol consumption, periods during which he was entirely unreachable and broader leadership failures at the bureau. The article also described an April 10 episode in which Patel mistakenly believed he had been fired after an apparent computer-access problem. Nine sources provided Fitzpatrick those details.
Patel’s behavior had previously drawn scrutiny inside and outside the Trump administration.
NBC News reported in February that President Donald Trump scolded Patel over his behavior at the Winter Olympics after a viral video showed the FBI director chugging beer while celebrating with the U.S. men’s hockey team after it won the gold medal.
Administration officials also expressed concern earlier this year over Patel’s assignment of special FBI tactical units to escort his girlfriend, country singer Alexis Wilkins, to public appearances and even a hair-styling appointment, The New York Times reported in February.
Patel flatly denied The Atlantic’s reporting on his behavior. Before the story was published, his attorney, Jesse Binnall, sent a letter to the magazine disputing the allegations of alcohol abuse and denying that the director’s behavior compromised national security.
“If the fake news mafia isn’t hitting you personally with baseless information in Washington, D.C., then you’re not doing your job,” Patel said Sunday in an interview with Fox News.
The Atlantic responds
The Atlantic did not immediately respond to the lawsuit. But in a statement over the weekend, the magazine’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, defended the article.
“We stand by our reporting on Kash Patel,” he said, according to CNBC.
Fitzpatrick also defended her work, saying that when she presented Patel with a comprehensive list of questions, Patel replied, “Print it, all false. I’ll see you in court — bring your checkbook.”
A defamation lawsuit filed by a public official like Patel faces an uphill battle in court. He would have to prove not only that the allegations in the article are false but that the magazine printed them either knowing they were false or with what the Supreme Court calls “reckless disregard.”
On X, however, Patel claimed The Atlantic acted with “actual malice” and that proving it in court would be a “lay up.”
