FBI Director Kash Patel filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic and its writer, Sarah Fitzpatrick, after it published an article alleging that Patel was a “habitual drunk.”
The lawsuit argues that claims in Fitzpatrick’s article “falsely assert” that Patel “is a habitual drunk, unable to perform the duties of his office, is a threat to public safety, is vulnerable to foreign coercion, has violated DOJ ethics rules, is unreachable in emergencies, has required the deployment of ‘breaching equipment’ to extract him from locked rooms, allows alcohol to influence his public statements about criminal investigations, and behaves erratically in a manner that compromises national security.”
The Atlantic “published these statements with actual malice,” the filing states, adding that the article “relied exclusively on anonymous sources with known motives to fabricate or exaggerate and lacked credible firsthand knowledge” and “failed to take even the most basic investigative steps—such as records requests, scheduling cross-checks, or interviewing Director Patel and other obvious witnesses—that would have easily refuted their claims.”
Patel told “Sunday Morning Futures” host Maria Bartiromo over the weekend that he would be suing the outlet.
“If the fake news mafia isn’t hitting you personally with baseless information in Washington, D.C., then you’re not doing your job, and it’s louder than ever because this FBI, under President Trump’s brilliant leadership in backing the blue and backing law enforcement, this FBI has the most prolific year in crime in the United States’s history, a 20% reduction in the homicide rate, a 20 point drop in opiate overdose deaths,” he said.
“Maria, I’m happy to announce on your show that we’re not going to take this laying down. You want to attack my character? Come at me, bring it on, I’ll see you in court,” Patel added. Bartiromo then asked, “So you’re going to sue them?”
“Absolutely, it’s coming tomorrow,” Patel responded.
