FBI Director Kash Patel sues Atlantic for ‘false’ reporting on drinking

FBI Director ⁠Kash Patel has filed a defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic and its reporter, Sarah Fitzpatrick, following the publication of an article on Friday alleging the director had a drinking problem that could pose a threat to United States national security.

The Atlantic said it stood by its reporting and would vigorously defend against the “meritless lawsuit” that was filed on Monday.

The magazine’s story, initially titled “Kash Patel’s Erratic Behavior Could ⁠Cost Him His Job,” cited more than two dozen anonymous sources expressing concern about Patel’s “conspicuous inebriation and unexplained absences” that “alarmed officials at the FBI and the Department of Justice”.

The article, which The Atlantic subsequently titled “The FBI Director Is MIA” in its online version, reported that during Patel’s tenure, the FBI had to reschedule ⁠early meetings “as a result of his alcohol-fueled nights” and that Patel “is often away or unreachable, delaying time-sensitive decisions needed to advance investigations”.

In The Atlantic’s story, the White House, the Department of Justice and Patel denied the allegations. The article included a statement from the FBI attributed to Patel, “Print it, all false, I’ll see you in court—bring your checkbook.”

Patel, in the lawsuit filed in the District Court in Washington, denied the allegations of his behaviour and criticised the magazine for relying on anonymous sources. Fitzpatrick wrote that she interviewed more than two dozen people and granted them anonymity to “discuss sensitive information and private conversations”.

“Defendants cannot evade responsibility for their malicious lies by hiding behind sham sources,” the lawsuit said.

“We stand ‌by our reporting on Kash Patel, and we will vigorously defend The Atlantic and our journalists against this meritless lawsuit,” the magazine said in a statement.

Reuters could not independently establish the accuracy of the article or why the publication changed the title.

Patel’s complaint says that while The Atlantic is free to criticise the leadership of the FBI, “they crossed the legal line” by publishing an article “replete with false and obviously fabricated allegations designed to destroy Director Patel’s reputation and drive him from office”.

The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, seeks $250m in damages.

The lawsuit alleges The Atlantic ignored the FBI’s denials and did not respond to a Friday letter from Patel’s lawyer Jesse Binnall to senior editors and the Atlantic’s legal department ⁠asking for more time to refute the 19 allegations the reporter told the FBI’s press office she would be ⁠publishing.

“It is among the strongest possible evidence of actual malice,” it said.

“The Atlantic’s story is a lie,” Patel said in an interview with Reuters. “They were given the truth before they published, and they chose to print falsehoods anyway.”

Acting with ‘actual malice’

The letter, which Reuters has seen, was sent shortly before 4pm (20:00 GMT) on Friday, and The Atlantic published the story at 6:20pm (22:20 GMT), according to the complaint. Reuters could not determine whether or how The Atlantic responded to Binnall’s request.

The lawsuit alleges the publication acted with “actual malice”, a legal standard that requires public figures such as Patel to show the publisher knowingly printed ⁠false information or recklessly ignored doubts about its accuracy.

“Defendants’ conscious decision to ignore the detailed, specific, and substantive refutations in the Pre-Publication Letter, and their refusal to give a reasonable amount of time for the FBI and Director Patel to ⁠respond, is among the strongest possible evidence of actual malice,” the lawsuit says.

Binnall is a prominent Republican ⁠attorney who has represented US President Donald Trump in numerous civil cases, including one brought by US Capitol Police officers over his role in riots in Washington, DC on January 6, 2020. Binnall has represented Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., as well as former national security adviser Mike Flynn, and ran Trump’s challenge to Nevada’s 2020 election results.

The lawsuit is the latest instance of a Trump administration figure suing a media outlet. A judge ‌dismissed a lawsuit brought by Trump against CNN for describing election denialism as “the big lie”. Judges have also dismissed Trump’s lawsuits against the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Trump has refiled his lawsuit against the New York Times and may refile against the Wall Street Journal.

He has also secured some settlements. ABC News agreed ‌to settle ‌a case for $15m plus $1m in legal fees. Paramount Global agreed to pay $16m to settle a dispute over what the Trump administration called “deceptive editing” of a CBS News interview with his opponent in the 2024 election, Kamala Harris.