FBI Director Kash Patel sues the Atlantic claiming false reporting about drinking, absences

WASHINGTON - FBI Director Kash Patel filed a defamation lawsuit against the Atlantic and its reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick following the publication of an article on April 17 alleging the director had a drinking problem that could pose a threat to national security.

The magazine's story, initially titled Kash Patel's Erratic Behavior Could Cost Him His Job, cited more than two dozen anonymous sources expressing concern at Mr Patel’s “conspicuous inebriation and unexplained absences” that “alarmed officials at the FBI and the Department of Justice.”

The article, which the Atlantic subsequently titled The FBI Director Is MIA in its online version, reported that during Mr Patel’s tenure, the FBI had to reschedule early meetings “as a result of his alcohol-fueled nights” and that Mr Patel “is often away or unreachable, delaying time-sensitive decisions needed to advance investigations.”

In the Atlantic's story, the White House, the Department of Justice and Mr Patel denied the allegations. The article included a statement from the FBI attributed to Mr Patel, “Print it, all false, I’ll see you in court—bring your checkbook.”

“The Atlantic's story is a lie,” Mr Patel said in an interview with Reuters. “They were given the truth before they published, and they chose to print falsehoods anyway.”

“We stand by our reporting on Kash Patel, and we will vigorously defend the Atlantic and our journalists against this meritless lawsuit,” the Atlantic said in a statement.

Reuters could not independently establish the accuracy of the Atlantic’s article or why the publication changed the title. 

Mr Patel's complaint says that while the Atlantic is free to criticise the leadership of the FBI, “they crossed the legal line” by publishing an article "replete with false and obviously fabricated allegations designed to destroy Director Patel’s reputation and drive him from office.”

The lawsuit, filed in US District Court for the District of Columbia, seeks US$250 million (S$317 million) in damages.

The lawsuit alleges the Atlantic ignored the FBI’s denials and did not respond to an April 17 letter from Mr Patel’s lawyer Jesse Binnall to senior editors and the Atlantic’s legal department asking for more time to refute the 19 allegations the reporter told the FBI’s press office she would be publishing.

The letter, which Reuters has seen, was sent shortly before 4pm on April 17 and the story was published at 6.20pm, according to the complaint. Reuters could not establish how or if the Atlantic responded to Mr Binnall's request.

The lawsuit alleges the publication acted with “actual malice,” a legal standard that requires public figures such as Patel to show the publisher knowingly printed false information or recklessly ignored doubts about its accuracy.

“Defendants' conscious decision to ignore the detailed, specific, and substantive refutations in the Pre-Publication Letter, and their refusal to give a reasonable amount of time for the FBI and Director Patel to respond, is among the strongest possible evidence of actual malice,” the lawsuit says.

The Supreme Court has set a high bar for defamation claims that requires a public figures like Mr Patel to prove that the Atlantic, or its reporter, knew its reporting was false and published it anyway.

“It’s a heavy hill to climb to prove actual malice,” said Ms Deanna Schullman, a media lawyer with Shullman Fugate PLLC in Florida, adding that she believes the suit has a little chance of succeeding. “A failure to obtain comment from the other side alone is not sufficient to establish actual malice.”

Mr Binnall is a prominent Republican attorney who has represented US President Donald Trump in numerous civil cases including one brought by US Capitol Police officers over his role in the Jan 6 riots. He represented Mr Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, former national security adviser Mike Flynn, and ran Mr Trump’s challenge to Nevada’s 2020 election results.

The lawsuit is the latest instance of a Trump administration figure suing a media outlet. A judge dismissed Mr Trump’s lawsuit against CNN for describing election denialism as “the big lie." Judges also dismissed Mr Trump's lawsuits against the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Mr Trump has refiled his lawsuit against the New York Times and may refile against the Wall Street Journal.

He has also secured some settlements. ABC News agreed to settle a case for US$15 million plus US$1 million in legal fees. Paramount Global agreed to pay US$16 million for what the Trump administration called “deceptive editing” of a CBS News interview with his opponent in the 2024 election, Kamala Harris.

Mr Dan Bongino, who served as deputy director of the FBI until January, told Reuters he never knew Mr Patel not to be reachable, one allegation in the Atlantic story.

“If you could not get in touch with Kash as alleged in the report who do you reach out to? Well you reach out to the deputy and that’s me,” he said. REUTERS