FBI director Kash Patel vows to sue Atlantic over ‘defamation’ report

FBI Director Kash Patel vows to take The Atlantic to court over a bombshell report published Friday evening that he says is full of defamatory allegations.

“Publish it, it’s all lies, I’ll see you in court — bring your checkbook,” Patel told The Atlantic in a statement included in the report.

The story, titled, “FBI director is MIA,” revealed a number of explosive allegations, including incidents of “irrational” behavior, “drinking to excess” and “unexplained absences.”

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The first claim alleged that Patel had a “freak” over a technical issue earlier this month when he tried to log into a computer system, believing he was being fired by President Donald Trump following the firing of Attorney General Pam Bondi and had to prepare an announcement. The Atlantic cited nine unnamed sources familiar with the incident.

“But Patel, according to many current officials, as well as former officials who have been close to him, is very concerned that his job is in jeopardy. He has good reasons to think so — including what witnesses have described to me as binge drinking,” Atlantic staff writer Sara Fitzpatrick told readers before citing earlier reports of rumors that the chopping block was also in place.

White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt told The Atlantic in a statement that Patel “remains a critical player on the administration’s legal and regulatory team.” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche also supported the FBI Director, telling Fitzpatrick, “Patel has accomplished more in 14 months than the previous administration did in four years. Anonymous pieces do not constitute journalism.”

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FBI Director Kash Patel speaks during a press conference at the White House in Washington, DC, on November 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

“The IT-lockout episode is a symptom of Patel’s turmoil as FBI director: He is irrational, he blames others, and he tends to jump to conclusions before he has the necessary evidence, according to more than a dozen people I interviewed about Patel’s behavior, including current and former FBI officials, law enforcement officials, members of the intelligence community, intelligence agents, Congressional lobbyists, and former advisers,” he wrote. Fitzpatrick.

“Speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information and confidential discussions, they described Patel’s tenure as a failure of governance and his behavior as a national security risk,” he continued.

The report alleges that Patel has a pattern of “public drinking” and that he “has been known to drink to the point of apparent inebriation,” which often occurred at Ned’s private club in Washington, DC “in front of the White House and other administration staff” and the Poodle Room in Las Vegas.

“At his start, meetings and briefings had to be rescheduled later in the day because of his alcohol-fueled nights, six current and former officials and others familiar with Patel’s schedule told me,” Fitzpatrick wrote. “Several times over the past year, members of his security detail had difficulty waking Patel because he appeared to be intoxicated, according to information provided by Justice Department and White House officials.”

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According to The Atlantic, the request for “law-breaking devices” often used by SWAT to gain access to buildings, “was made last year because Patel was inaccessible behind locked doors, according to multiple people familiar with the request.” Independent sources have also speculated whether Patel’s alcohol consumption played a role in his social media posts that shared inaccurate information about an active law enforcement investigation, including what he wrote after Charlie Kirk was killed before suspect Tyler Robinson turned himself in.

“Some of Patel’s colleagues at the FBI are concerned that his behavior has become a threat to public safety,” Fitzpatrick wrote, saying unnamed officials fear his ability to handle domestic terrorist attacks, with one telling Fitzpatrick, “That’s what keeps me up at night.”

Jesse Binnall, an attorney representing Patel, shared a letter sent to The Atlantic before the report was published, calling out the magazine for giving the FBI less than two hours to respond to the “defamatory statements” before the stated deadline and that most of the 19 claims were “false.”

“Many of the claims in the draft article rely only on vague, unspecified sources such as ‘people familiar with the matter’ or ‘others cited.’ Any of the purported sources cannot have first-hand knowledge, as the allegations are completely false,” Binnall wrote. “At least one specific claim – allegation #8 about alleged equipment violations – has absolutely no corroborating public record and appears to have been fabricated or derived from a single hostile and untrustworthy source.”

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The attorney accused The Atlantic of having “a long-standing animosity toward Director Patel” and, when Patel took “immediate legal action,” ordered the magazine to preserve all documents and communications relating to his client.

“They knew the claims were false and defamatory. They published them anyway. See you in court,” Binnall wrote to X.

FBI Assistant Director of Public Affairs Ben Williamson, who initially denied the various claims directly to the Atlantic, responded that “This article is a compilation of all the false rumors I’ve heard in the last 14 months except that the Atlantic was the only one dumb enough to print it.”

Patel’s counsel Erica Knight said the Atlantic published what “a real DC reporter chased, couldn’t verify, and passed on,” which she said was “fabricated news.”

“A lawsuit is being filed,” Knight wrote.

Fitzpatrick stood by his reporting even under legal threat.

“I’m a meticulous, hard-working, award-winning investigative reporter with a track record of award-winning work at multiple organizations,” Fitzpatrick told MS NOW’s Jen Psaki on Friday night. “I stand by every word of this report. We have high-level lawyers.”

Patel fired back, telling Fitzpatrick, “we’ll see you and your whole false reporting team in court…

Patel also shared a screenshot of Williamson’s email response to Fitzpatrick, saying “Top to bottom, this is one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever read.”

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The Atlantic did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.