Under Kash Patel, the FBI Is on the Rocks in More Ways Than One
Our FBI director is actually so stable and in charge that he filed a $250 million lawsuit against The Atlantic on Monday for reporting that he drinks too much.
Photo: Getty Images
Kash Patel has never been qualified to lead the FBI and, on Friday, the Atlantic confirmed the gazillionth reason why.
Journalist Sarah Fitzpatrick spoke to more than two dozen officials for her piece, “The FBI Director Is MIA,” who said that, for months, Patel’s been exhibiting misconduct going “well beyond what has been previously known,” with the standout detail being the fact that he’s regularly too drunk to do his job. Guess that time he ditched work for a few hours to chug pints with the U.S. men’s hockey team was just the tip of the iceberg.
On Monday, Patel filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against the outlet, calling the reporting “meritless.”
According to various Justice Department and White House officials, there have been several instances in which Patel’s staffers and security details would struggle to wake him up because he was too drunk, or in which he moved meetings and briefings after a night of heavy boozing. On one occasion, sources said a request was made for “breaching equipment” to break down a locked door, because Patel was sound asleep. Must be nice!
Apparently, various FBI officials have also grilled Patel on whether his drinking habits are the reason he’s bungled high-profile investigations, such as the time he prematurely posted misinformation about Charlie Kirk’s shooter in October. Or the time he prematurely posted misinformation about a terrorist attack plot in Michigan, a few weeks later. Or the time he prematurely posted misinformation about the Brown University shooting in December.
BARTIROMO: So you’re gonna sue them?
KASH PATEL: Absolutely. It’s coming tomorrow
BARTIROMO: Tomorrow you will be dropping a lawsuit against The Atlantic?
PATEL: Yes I will. For defamation
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) April 19, 2026 at 3:35 PM
In what seemed to be a response on Saturday, Patel tweeted an “open memo to the fake news.” “No amount of BS you write will ever deter this FBI from making America safe again and taking down the criminals you love.” OK!
On Sunday, he went on Fox News to announce he’d be suing the outlet. “You know what? They can beat their drums and stand next to toxic waste all they want, but that doesn’t make it toxic waste,” he told Maria Bartiromo. “I’m happy to announce on your show, that we are 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.”
The Atlantic journalist, Sarah Fitzpatrick, who wrote the story on FBI Director Kash Patel and his alleged erratic behavior, paranoia, often being MIA, and excessive drinking, after he threatened to sue her:
“I stand by every word of this reporting.”
— Art Candee 🍿🥤 (@ArtCandee) April 18, 2026
Speaking on MS Now, Fitzpatrick said, “I stand by every word of this reporting.” The outlet also released its own statement, saying, “We will vigorously defend The Atlantic and our journalists against this meritless lawsuit.”
According to the Atlantic, several sources failed to report their concerns sooner out of fear of retaliation. The Trump administration has been particularly dogged to punish anyone deemed unloyal to the MAGA mission, with Patel being front-and-center—and in March, the FBI director fired at least 10 officials for investigating Mar-a-Lago documents about him and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles… during the Biden administration.
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