FBI Director Kash Patel sues The Atlantic for article that alleged
excessive drinking
[April 21, 2026]
By DAVID BAUDER
FBI Director Kash Patel 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.”
In the article, posted on the magazine's website Friday, author Sarah
Fitzpatrick said Patel is deeply concerned about losing his job and that
“he has good reasons to think so — including some having to do with what
witnesses described to me as bouts of excessive drinking.” Fitzpatrick
was also named as a defendant.
His behavior, including “both conspicuous inebriation and unexplained
absences,” 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. “keeps me up
at night,” the magazine said.
Patel still described as pivotal for Trump White House
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 to go after the president's rivals.
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 “discuss sensitive
information and private conversations.”
“Defendants cannot evade responsibility for their malicious lies by
hiding behind sham sources,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit said Patel's lawyers asked The Atlantic for more time to
respond to accusations but the magazine did not reply. “It is among the
strongest possible evidence of actual malice,” it said.
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FBI Director Kash Patel speaks at the Rx and Illicit drug Summit,
Wednesday, April 8, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)
Atlantic outlines behavior it says witnesses saw
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.
It said that on “multiple occasions” 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.
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 Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the Wall
Street Journal over its report about a risqué 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.
Last September, another judge dismissed 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.
Trump also sued CBS News and ABC News 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.
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