The Atlantic magazine is facing a multimillion-dollar lawsuit after FBI Director Kash Patel said the outlet defamed him in a recent article alleging alcohol use, various absences at the bureau and erratic behavior.
Patel sued The Atlantic and staff writer Sarah Fitzpatrick in federal district court in Washington, D.C. The complaint is seeking to hold the organization and Fitzpatrick accountable for a “sweeping, malicious, and defamatory hit piece.”
He is suing for $250 million in addition to any proceeds The Atlantic made off the article.
Both Fitzpatrick and The Atlantic say they stand by the reporting and said they will “vigorously” defend its staff against the “meritless lawsuit.” Fitzpatrick told MS NOW’s Jen Psaki on Friday that she stood by “every word” of her reporting.
Patel replied on Saturday, saying he would see Fitzpatrick and her “entire entourage of false reporting in court.” In the lawsuit, Patel noted that Fitzpatrick was not able to get one person to go on the record and attributed much of her information to anonymous sources.
Fitzpatrick spoke to more than two dozen people for her article, including current and former FBI officials. They were granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive and private conversations happening at the bureau.
According to Fitzpatrick’s article, Patel has often had moments described as a “freak-out,” particularly after rumors that after Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, he’d be the next ousted. The White House, however, has defended Patel since the publication of The Atlantic’s article.
Patel, who is a former public defender and worked in national security during President Donald Trump’s first term, is leading a bureau of more than 38,000.
He is facing allegations of misusing alcohol and having “unexplained absences,” Fitzpatrick wrote. She said several officials told her that his drinking has been a cause for concern, both in Washington, D.C., and Las Vegas.
Patel came under scrutiny earlier this year for drinking beer with the U.S. men’s hockey team in the locker room after they won the Olympics in Milan.