{"id":545278,"date":"2026-04-22T20:49:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T20:49:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/545278\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T20:49:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T20:49:08","slug":"democrats-demand-fbi-director-kash-patel-take-alcohol-abuse-test-fbi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/545278\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrats demand FBI director Kash Patel take alcohol abuse test | FBI"},"content":{"rendered":"

House judiciary Democrats have launched a formal inquiry into the alleged drinking habits of the FBI<\/a> director, Kash Patel, demanding he complete a standardized alcohol abuse assessment and submit the results to Congress.<\/p>\n

In a letter sent on Tuesday<\/a>, led by Jamie Raskin, a Maryland representative, Democrats on the committee called on Patel to take the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (Audit) \u2013 a 10-question World Health Organization screening tool used to identify harmful patterns of drinking \u2013 along with a sworn statement attesting to his answers. Lawmakers also requested all security clearance questionnaires Patel has completed since taking the role.<\/p>\n

The letter cited a pattern of alleged conduct that Democrats argued had directly compromised national security, claiming Patel\u2019s alleged unavailability had led to delays in terror-related decisions \u2013 including the issuance of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (Fisa) warrants \u2013 and that his behavior had undermined two high-profile criminal investigations: the manhunt following a mass shooting at Brown University<\/a> and the search for the assassin of Charlie Kirk<\/a>. In both cases, the letter alleged, Patel had publicly broadcast inaccurate information.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese glimpses of your relationship to alcohol would be alarming to see in an FBI<\/a> agent; for us to see them in the FBI Director himself is shocking and indicative of a public emergency,\u201d the letter stated.<\/p>\n

The embattled FBI director has also faced criticism for traveling to Milan<\/a> to watch the US men\u2019s hockey team win gold in the Winter Olympics, chugging a beer<\/a> in celebration with the players in the locker room after they won.<\/p>\n

The Audit\u2019s 10 questions span basic consumption frequency through to dependency warning signs, and includes whether the subject has needed a morning drink to recover, experienced memory blackouts, or been advised by a doctor or loved one to cut down. Scored on a scale of 0 to 40, a result of eight or higher<\/a> indicates hazardous or harmful use.<\/p>\n

The pressure on Patel extends to the Senate. Dick Durbin, a Democrat and the minority whip, took to the Senate floor to call for Patel\u2019s removal, arguing he had \u201cweaponized the world\u2019s pre-eminent investigative agency to serve the interests of one person \u2013 President Trump\u201d.<\/p>\n

The push follows a recent investigation by the Atlantic<\/a>, which reported that Patel\u2019s alcohol consumption had become \u201ca recurring source of concern across the government\u201d, citing interviews with more than two dozen people, including current and former FBI officials. Among the most serious allegations: that his security detail on at least one occasion struggled to rouse him because he appeared intoxicated, and that agents had sought \u201cSWAT-level breaching equipment\u201d to gain access to a room where he was unresponsive behind a locked door.<\/p>\n

Patel has forcefully denied the allegations, and on Monday he filed a $250m defamation lawsuit against the Atlantic<\/a>. At a press conference on Tuesday, he told reporters: \u201cI\u2019ve never been intoxicated on the job. Any one of you that wants to participate, bring it on \u2013 I\u2019ll see you in court.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m the first one in, I\u2019m the last one out,\u201d Patel added. \u201cI\u2019m like an everyday American who loves his country, loves the sport of hockey, and champions my friends when they raise a gold medal and invite me to celebrate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Democrats simultaneously wrote to the House judiciary committee chairman, Jim Jordan, urging the Ohio Republican to compel Patel\u2019s appearance at a formal hearing under oath if he fails to comply with their demands by next week.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe American people deserve to hear the facts directly from you now \u2013 not your lawyers weeks or months from now \u2013 to determine for ourselves whether your continued leadership of the FBI in fact constitutes a severe national security vulnerability,\u201d Democrats wrote in their letter to Patel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"House judiciary Democrats have launched a formal inquiry into the alleged drinking habits of the FBI director, Kash…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":545279,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[49,50,51,47,52,48],"class_list":{"0":"post-545278","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=545278"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545278\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/545279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=545278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=545278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=545278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}