00:00And speaking of one of those officials on thin ice, FBI Director Kash Patel, he's suing The
00:05Atlantic and its reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick for $250 million over a story that alleges Patel's
00:11behavior at the Bureau is a matter of national security. The story in question was initially
00:16titled Kash Patel's erratic behavior could cost him his job, and the lawsuit claims that it's
00:22quote categorically false and defamatory. The article cites more than two dozen anonymous
00:27sources expressing concern at some behavior that's pretty inappropriate for work, like
00:33for instance, Patel's quote, conspicuous inebriation and unexplained absences that alarmed officials
00:39at the FBI and the Department of Justice. The title of the piece has since been changed to
00:44the FBI Director is MIA, but anecdotes that Patel's drinking has forced meetings to be rescheduled
00:50and that he's often unreachable when time sensitive decisions need to be made are all still in
00:55there. The White House, the Department of Justice and Patel deny the allegations in the story,
00:59which also quotes Patel directly as saying, print it all false. I'll see you in court. Bring your
01:05checkbook. The suit claims The Atlantic ignored the FBI's denials and that it published the piece
01:11despite a letter asking for more time to refute the accusations. Patel's legal team says the magazine
01:16acted with actual malice, and that's important. It's a legal standard that requires public figures
01:22such as Patel to prove that the publisher knowingly printed false information or recklessly ignored
01:28doubts about its accuracy. It's notoriously hard to prove. The post asked The Atlantic about the
01:33lawsuit and was told, quote, we stand by our reporting on Kash Patel and we will vigorously defend The
01:39Atlantic and our journalists against this meritless lawsuit.
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