{"id":240339,"date":"2026-04-21T13:38:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T13:38:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/240339\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T13:38:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T13:38:20","slug":"fbi-director-sues-the-atlantic-for-article-that-alleged-excessive-drinking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/240339\/","title":{"rendered":"FBI director sues The Atlantic for article that alleged excessive drinking"},"content":{"rendered":"

FBI Director Kash Patel<\/a> hit The Atlantic magazine with a $250 million defamation lawsuit on Monday, claiming an article that talked about mismanagement at the agency and his alleged excessive drinking was false and a “malicious hit piece.” The Atlantic said it stood by its reporting and would vigorously defend against the “meritless lawsuit.”<\/p>\n

In the article, posted on the magazine’s website Friday, author Sarah Fitzpatrick said Patel is deeply concerned about losing his job and that \u201che has good reasons to think so \u2014 including some having to do with what witnesses described to me as bouts of excessive drinking.\u201d Fitzpatrick was also named as a defendant.<\/p>\n

His behavior, including \u201cboth conspicuous inebriation and unexplained absences,\u201d has alarmed officials at the FBI and Department of Justice, leading one official speaking anonymously to say that worry about what would happen in the case of a terrorist attack in the U.S. \u201ckeeps me up at night,\u201d the magazine said.<\/p>\n

Patel still described as pivotal for Trump White House<\/p>\n

The White House told The Atlantic that Patel remains a critical player on President Donald Trump’s law and order team and credited him for decreases in the crime rate. Trump’s team is also said to be pleased by Patel’s willingness<\/a> to go after the president’s rivals<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Patel, in the lawsuit filed in district court in Washington, denied the allegations of his behavior and criticized the magazine for relying on anonymous sources. Fitzpatrick wrote that she interviewed more than two dozen people and granted them anonymity to \u201cdiscuss sensitive information and private conversations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDefendants cannot evade responsibility for their malicious lies by hiding behind sham sources,\u201d the lawsuit said.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit said Patel’s lawyers asked The Atlantic for more time to respond to accusations but the magazine did not reply. \u201cIt is among the strongest possible evidence of actual malice,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

Atlantic outlines behavior it says witnesses saw<\/p>\n

The Atlantic said Patel had been spotted drinking heavily at the private club Ned’s in Washington and at the Poodle Room in Las Vegas, where he often spends time on the weekends. Six people told the magazine that briefings and meetings involving Patel had to be rescheduled for later in the day because of drinking the night before.<\/p>\n

It said that on \u201cmultiple occasions\u201d Patel’s security team had difficulty waking him and at one point requested equipment designed to forcibly open a building when Patel was unreachable behind closed doors.<\/p>\n

With his lawsuit, Patel is following a playbook used by his boss to fight back against damaging stories. Last week, a judge in Florida dismissed<\/a> Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal over its report about a risqu\u00e9 birthday greeting he had sent to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The judge said Trump had not plausibly alleged the story was published with actual malice, the standard for a libel finding.<\/p>\n

Last September, another judge dismissed<\/a> Trump’s $15 billion lawsuit against The New York Times and some reporters for a story critical of the president’s business acumen. Trump was allowed to file an amended lawsuit, which he did.<\/p>\n

Trump also sued CBS News<\/a> and ABC News<\/a> for stories he didn’t like before taking office again for his second term. Both of those news organizations paid a settlement out of court to Trump before the cases could go to trial.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at http:\/\/x.com\/dbauder<\/a> and https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/dbauder.bsky.social<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.<\/p>\n