00:00Bombshell allegations about the FBI director in the Atlantic has landed the magazine in
00:04hot water as Kash Patel files a shocking $250 million defamation lawsuit after a report
00:11in the outlet alleged the director had, quote, bouts of excessive drinking and a number of,
00:15quote, unexplained absences.
00:17What are the wild claims about Patel in the Atlantic and how is he responding?
00:21Here's what you need to know.
00:22On April 17th, journalist Sarah Fitzpatrick published a scathing story about FBI director
00:27Kash Patel in the Atlantic, citing several anonymous sources, the story alleged Patel suffered
00:33from, quote, bouts of excessive drinking, which negatively impacted his leadership of the
00:37bureau.
00:38Sources claimed that Patel's meetings had to be rescheduled for the later half of the
00:41day because of his, quote, alcohol-fueled nights.
00:44According to the story, which Patel's lawyer later referred to as a, quote, hit piece,
00:48unnamed sources claim Patel was, quote, known to drink to the point of obvious intoxication,
00:53especially at private clubs such as Ned's in DC and the Poodle Room in Las Vegas.
00:59The story also claimed that Patel's alleged excessive drinking was, quote, no secret.
01:03The report referenced a notorious video that circulated on X showing Patel partying and
01:08exuberantly chugging a beer with the USA hockey team in Milan after the team bested Canada in
01:13a thrilling sudden-death overtime win during the 2026 Olympics.
01:18According to NBC News, President Trump let Patel know he wasn't pleased with the director's
01:22behavior during the viral clip.
01:24On his personal X account, Patel confirmed he was parting with the hockey players, writing,
01:29For the very concerned media, yes, I love America and was extremely humbled when my friends,
01:35the newly minted gold medal winners on Team USA, invited me into the locker room to celebrate
01:40this historic moment with the boys.
01:42Greatest country on earth and greatest sport on earth.
01:45The Atlantic article went on to claim that members of Patel's security team had, on several
01:50occasions, failed to wake him up because of his alleged drinking.
01:53In one shocking instance, sources alleged officials made a request for SWAT team door-breaching
01:59equipment after Patel failed to answer the door.
02:02Sources told Fitzpatrick that they worried about Patel leading the agency during a potential
02:06domestic terrorist attack and questioned whether alcohol was a factor when the director publicly
02:11shared misleading information during the Charlie Kirk assassination investigation.
02:15Jessie Banal, the FBI director's attorney, shared a letter on X that was sent to Fitzpatrick
02:19before her story was published asserting that, quote, most of the article's claims about
02:24Patel were, quote, false, unsourced, and facially defamatory.
02:28The lawyer specifically called out an allegation about Patel's security detail requesting breaching
02:33equipment to get into his locked room, writing that the claim, quote, has no corroborating
02:37public record whatsoever and appears to be either fabricated or drawn from a single, hostile,
02:42and unreliable source. Patel also denied the allegations in the story, telling the reporter
02:47in a statement, print it, all false. I'll see you in court. Bring your checkbook. After the Atlantic
02:53article dropped, Patel immediately went on the offensive and doubled down, telling Fox News host
02:58Maria Bartiromo that he'd see the outlet in court.
03:01I'm happy to announce on your show that we are not going to take this laying down. You want to
03:05attack
03:05my character? Come at me. Bring it on. I'll see you in court.
03:08So you're going to sue them? Absolutely. It's coming tomorrow.
03:14And Patel followed through, filing a whopping $250 million defamation suit in U.S. District
03:20Court. According to Reuters, the suit alleges that the Atlantic acted with actual malice,
03:24ignored Patel's lawyers' pre-publication doubts about the story's accuracy. The legal complaint
03:30alleges that the Atlantic, quote, crossed the legal line. Erica Knight, the FBI director's
03:35communication strategist, described the story as one, quote, every real D.C. reporter chased,
03:40couldn't verify, and passed on. But Fitzgerald isn't backing down from her reporting, telling
03:45Jen Psaki on MS Now that she stands by every word in the story.
03:50Patel's advisor, Erica Knight, called your piece fabricated stories. She said that every
03:55serious D.C. reporter passed on, Sarah Fitzpatrick and Jeffrey Goldberg printed it anyway.
04:01Lawsuit is being filed. What do you say to that? I say that I am a very careful,
04:06very diligent, award-winning investigative reporter with a history of award-winning work
04:10across multiple organizations. You and I, in fact, have worked together previously.
04:14I stand by every word of this reporting.
04:16You let's look at your ownavoirs. So many other reports, you're looking at magnets
04:17that I think, sometimes if that's from our relationship, I mean, you're jamin' log in.
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