FBI director Kash Patel filed a complaint Monday in US District Court for the District of Columbia against The Atlantic magazine and reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick, seeking $250 million in damages over a story alleging he had “alarmed colleagues with episodes of excessive drinking and unexplained absences.”
The suit targets an April 17 article headlined “Kash Patel’s Erratic Behavior Could Cost Him His Job,” which reported that Patel drank to the point of obvious intoxication at private clubs in Washington and Las Vegas, that official meetings were rescheduled around alcohol-fueled nights out, and that his security detail had struggled to wake him on multiple occasions. Patel filed the suit as a private citizen and Nevada resident.
The complaint called the piece a “sweeping, malicious, and defamatory hit piece” and alleged it falsely portrayed Patel as “a habitual drunk, unable to perform the duties of his office” and “vulnerable to foreign coercion.”
Patel’s attorney Jesse Binnall sent a pre-publication letter to The Atlantic disputing 19 claims made in the article. The suit alleged The Atlantic gave the FBI less than two hours to respond before its deadline and published regardless, which it argued constitutes “among the strongest possible evidence of actual malice.”
The Atlantic said Monday it stands by its reporting and will vigorously defend against the lawsuit. No trial date has been set.
To prevail on a defamation claim, a public figure must show a publisher acted with actual malice, defined as knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard for the truth. The Supreme Court established the standard in famous case New York Times Co. v. Sullivan.
