Washington: FBI Director Kash Patel is suing Atlantic on an explosive article that showed that he “failed to act” with a problem alcoholic whose behavior has worried those around him in the nation’s main crime-fighting agency.
The article, published on Friday, said multiple witnesses described Patel’s “drinking bouts”, and reported that there was serious concern in the US government about his excessive drinking.
On several occasions over the past year, members of Patel’s security detail “had difficulty waking (him) up because he appeared to be drunk”. Atlantic it reported, citing “information provided to the Department of Justice and White House officials”.
The magazine claimed that at one point, employees requested “breach devices” — the battering rams used by SWAT and raid teams to break into buildings — because Patel was unreachable behind a closed door.
Patel’s colleagues are reportedly concerned his behavior has become a threat to public safety, and that he may be absent or unavailable as the nation responds to domestic terrorist attacks.
A Donald Trump loyalist and national security official during the first Trump administration, Patel was appointed by the president in part to reform the FBI after what both men believe was politicization and weaponization of the agency under Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden.
In the case, filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia on Monday morning (US time), Patel’s lawyers said. Atlantic The article included a “sweeping, malicious and defamatory section” that crossed legal boundaries and contained “false and obviously fabricated claims”.
The journalist, Sarah Fitzpatrick, “could not get a single person to go on the record to defend these outrageous allegations”, the complaint said, and instead relied on anonymous sources “she knew were both deeply biased and in no position to know the truth”.
Patel also accused the magazine of a “well-written and long-winded campaign” against him, failing to give him enough time to answer their questions and “deliberately orchestrating the pre-publication process to avoid receiving information that would contradict their narrative”.
Atlantic It said in a statement that it stood by its reporting and would vigorously defend itself and Fitzpatrick against “unfair allegations”.
Speculation has swirled in Washington about Patel’s fate as FBI director, with anonymous sources telling the media that Trump was unhappy with him, among other top appointees and cabinet members.
While on an official trip to Italy for this year’s Winter Olympics, Patel was filmed drinking beer in the locker room with the US men’s hockey team after winning the gold medal, in a clip that went viral.
Patel gave an interview to Fox News on Sunday (US time) where he blamed the “fake news mafia” for trying to destroy his reputation and hinted that he would sue for defamation.
He also defended his record on reducing violent crime, cutting overdose deaths, seizing fentanyl and reducing the flow of prescription drugs into the United States.
Homicides fell by more than 20 percent in 2025, and are close to the lowest since 1900 when data is compiled, according to the Council on Criminal Justice.
“If I’m not doing my job, if I’m not working, then how did the FBI make America the safest under President Trump in the history of our country?” Patel said on Fox News.
Trump has not made a public announcement of support for Patel since then Atlantic published his story. But White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the newspaper that crime had declined under Patel’s leadership of the FBI and he “remains an important player on the law and order team”.
If Trump were to go against Patel, the FBI director would join a growing list of top appointees fired in recent months, after Kristi Noem was removed as homeland security secretary. and Pam Bondi removed as attorney general.
The FBI is very worried about Trump. His investigation into alleged collusion between Russia and senior officials in the Trump 2016 campaign dominated the early stages of his first term, and led to the firing of James Comey as FBI director in 2017.
Trump continues to regard Comey as one of his political enemies, and in his second term, he pressured Bondi and the Justice Department to indict Comey. The charge – that he lied to Congress – they were thrown out after the judge found that they were improperly brought.
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Michael Koziol is the North American correspondent for The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former Sydney editor, deputy editor of the Sun-Herald and federal political reporter in Canberra.Connect through X or email address.
