Kash Patel, the director of the FBI, sued The Atlantic on Monday morning, accusing the publication of defaming him in a report about his drinking.
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Citing anonymous sources, The Atlantic story, published on Friday, said Patel had “bouts of excessive drinking.”
The article reported several incidents where sources described Patel behaving erratically. Citing anonymous sources, it said Patel had a “freak-out” and told allies the White House fired him when he found himself locked out of a computer system. The Atlantic story said Patel’s drinking “has been a recurring source of concern across the government,” and that FBI officials have questioned whether alcohol played a role when he publicly shared incorrect information about the investigation into Charlie Kirk’s murder.
Business Insider hasn’t independently verified the claims in The Atlantic’s article.
Patel’s lawsuit asks for $250 million in damages. It says The Atlantic and Sarah Fitzpatrick, who wrote the article, ignored the FBI’s assertion that the claims were “obviously false” and that she misrepresented numerous events.
The lawsuit denied the article’s claims that Patel “is known to drink to the point of obvious intoxication, in many cases at the private club Ned’s in Washington, D.C., while in the presence of White House and other administration staff.” It also denied reporting that said that he “is also known to drink to excess at the Poodle Room in Las Vegas, where he frequently spends parts of his weekends.”
In a statement following the filing of Patel’s lawsuit, in Washington, DC, federal court, The Atlantic said it stood by its story.
“We stand by our reporting on Kash Patel, and we will vigorously defend The Atlantic and our journalists against this meritless lawsuit,” a spokesperson said.
Monday’s lawsuit is the second that Patel has filed against members of the media since President Donald Trump appointed him as FBI director.
Last year, he sued Frank Figliuzzi, a former FBI official who worked as an analyst and columnist for MSNBC, now known as MS Now. That lawsuit, which remains pending, alleged that Figliuzzi defamed him by saying Patel spent a lot of time at nightclubs.
In both lawsuits, Patel is represented by the law firm of Jesse Binnall, an attorney with a track record of representing Trump allies. He also represented Trump in lawsuits to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Last week, a federal judge in Florida tossed a lawsuit Trump filed against The Wall Street Journal and several of its reporters over an article that said he authored a birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003.
