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The Atlantic reporter behind an explosive report about FBI Director Kash Patel is doubling down on explosive claims as the magazine faces a multimillion-dollar defamation lawsuit.
“I stand by every word of this report,” said Atlantic staff writer Sarah Fitzpatrick on Thursday’s “Radio Atlantic” podcast. “We were very diligent. We were very careful. It went through many levels of planning, revision, maintenance.”
Fitzpatrick alleges that since his report was published, he has been “inundated” with responses, including from government officials, confirming his reporting.
“And I think one of the things that was very exciting, after – immediately after the story was published, I was bombarded by other sources that went up to the highest levels of the government, thank you for doing the work, providing more and more corroborating information,” said Fitzpatrick.
He continued, “So this was an open secret in Washington, unfortunately, and we were very careful to make it public.”
FBI DIRECTOR KASH PATEL FILES FOR $250 MILLION AGAINST THE ATLANTIC FOR ‘CONFIRMED’
FBI Director Kash Patel speaks during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
An FBI spokesperson told Fox News Digital, “Repeating a defamatory lie does not make it true, despite concerns about causing disruption in the record-breaking, historic achievement of the FBI.”
On Monday, Patel filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic, saying in her lawsuit that Fitzpatrick and the magazine should be held responsible for a “vile, malicious and defamatory piece” published last week.
“Defendants are free to criticize FBI leadership, but they crossed a legal line by publishing an article full of false and misleading allegations designed to discredit Director Patel and get him fired,” the lawsuit continued.
The story, “FBI director is MIA,” brought up several serious allegations, including “promiscuous behavior,” “excessive drinking” and “unexplained absences.”
FBI DIRECTOR KASH PATEL, NEW YORK TIMES COMMUNICATE ABOUT PAPERS ITS REPORTER IS ‘INVESTIGATED’
The first allegation is that Patel had a “frustration” 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 after Attorney General Pam Bondi was fired and had to prepare an announcement. The Atlantic cited nine unnamed sources familiar with the incident.
“But Patel, according to many current officials, and former officials who have sat around him, is very concerned that his job is in jeopardy. He has good reasons to think so — including some related to what witnesses described to me as binge drinking,” Fitzpatrick told readers before citing earlier reports that Patel was also on the decision-making block.
“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 officers, members of the intelligence community, intelligence agents, Congressional lobbyists, and former advisers,” Fitzpatrick wrote.
The Atlantic reporter behind an explosive report about FBI Director Kash Patel is doubling down on explosive claims as the magazine faces a multimillion-dollar defamation lawsuit. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)
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.”
KASH PATEL CONTACTS NBC CORRESPONDENT AT NEWS CONFERENCE ABOUT LEGAL QUESTIONS, THE ATLANTIC STORY
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 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 he had written after Charlie Kirk was killed before suspect Tyler Robinson turned himself in.
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.
The FBI strongly dismissed the report and several members of the Trump administration, including White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, expressed their support for Patel.
“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.
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