Published April 20, 2026
FBI Director Kash Patel filed a defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic and its reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick on Friday after they published an article alleging that the director has a drinking problem that could pose a threat to U.S. national security.
The Atlantic said it stands by its reporting and will vigorously defend itself against the “unjustified lawsuit” filed Monday.
The magazine’s article, originally titled “Kash Patel’s erratic behavior could cost him his job,” cited more than 20 anonymous sources expressing concern about Patel’s “significant drunkenness and unexplained absenteeism,” which it said “has alarmed FBI and Justice Department officials.”
The article, titled “FBI Director MIA,” later appeared in The Atlantic’s online edition, reporting that during Patel’s tenure, the FBI had to reschedule early meetings “due to nights of drunk driving,” and that Patel was “often out of town or unavailable, delaying the decisions needed to advance investigations on the spur of the moment.”
In an article in The Atlantic, the White House, Justice Department and Patel denied the allegations. The article included an FBI statement attributed to Patel. “Print it out. It’s all a lie. I’ll see you in court. Bring your checkbook.”
In a lawsuit filed in Washington District Court, Patel denies the allegations of his conduct and criticizes the magazine’s reliance on anonymous sources. Fitzpatrick wrote that she interviewed more than 20 people and gave them anonymity to “discuss confidential information and private conversations.”
“Defendants cannot escape responsibility for malicious lies by hiding behind false sources,” the complaint states.
“We stand by our reporting on Kash Patel and will vigorously defend The Atlantic and its journalists against this meritless lawsuit,” the magazine said in a statement.
Reuters could not independently verify the accuracy of the article or why the publication changed the title.
Patel’s complaint says that while The Atlantic is free to criticize FBI leadership, they “crossed a legal line” by publishing an article “filled with false and clearly fabricated allegations designed to tarnish Director Patel’s reputation and remove him from office.”
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeks $250 million in damages.
The complaint alleges that The Atlantic ignored the FBI’s denials and did not respond to a Friday letter from Mr. Patel’s lawyer, Jesse Vinall, to senior editors and the Atlantic’s legal department asking for more time to rebut the 19 allegations that the reporter had told the FBI news bureau he planned to publish.
“This is one of the strongest pieces of evidence of actual malice.”
“The Atlantic story is a lie,” Patel said in an interview with Reuters. “They were told the truth before publication, but chose to publish the falsehood anyway.”
act with “actual malice”
According to the complaint, the letter, seen by Reuters, was sent just before 4 p.m. (8 p.m. Japan time) on Friday, and The Atlantic published the story at 6:20 p.m. (22:20 p.m. Japan time). Reuters was unable to determine whether or how The Atlantic responded to Vinal’s request.
The lawsuit alleges the publication acted with “actual malice,” a legal standard that requires public figures like Patel to show that the publisher knowingly printed false information or recklessly ignored questions about its accuracy.
“Defendants’ conscious decision to ignore detailed, specific, and substantive rebuttals in the pre-public letter, and their refusal to allow the FBI and Director Patel reasonable time to respond, is among the strongest evidence of actual malice,” the complaint states.
Vinal is a prominent Republican lawyer who has represented President Donald Trump in numerous civil cases, including a lawsuit brought by U.S. Capitol Police officers over Trump’s role in the January 6, 2020, riot in Washington, D.C. Mr. Vinal represented Mr. Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., and former national security adviser Mike Flynn in Mr. Trump’s challenge to the results of the 2020 Nevada election.
The lawsuit is the latest in which Trump administration figures have sued news organizations. A judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Trump against CNN, calling election denial a “big lie.” The justices also dismissed Trump’s lawsuits against the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Mr. Trump has re-sued the New York Times and may sue the Wall Street Journal again.
He also secured several settlements. ABC News agreed to settle the lawsuit for $15 million plus $1 million in attorney fees. Paramount Global has agreed to pay $16 million to resolve a dispute over what the Trump administration called “false editing” of a CBS News interview with 2024 election opponent Kamala Harris.
