FBI Director Kash Patel has filed a lawsuit against The Atlantic magazine. He is accusing the magazine of defamation over an article that alleged that excessive drinking and unexplained absenteeism put his job at risk.
The New York Times reports.
The article was published on April 17 under the headline "FBI Director Missing." It detailed Patel's behavior as FBI director, citing more than two dozen anonymous sources.
The article's author, journalist Sarah Fitzpatrick, wrote that Patel's behavior "has often been a source of concern to FBI and Justice Department officials." The article noted that he "has also developed a reputation for acting impulsively in high-stakes investigations."
Patel denied the allegations in a statement to The Atlantic, which was also included in the article. The White House also denied the allegations, and its press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, told The Atlantic that "Director Patel remains a key figure on the administration's law enforcement team."
Kash Patel immediately began threatening a lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against The Atlantic and Fitzpatrick. The lawsuit seeks USD 250 million in damages.
"We will vigorously defend The Atlantic and our journalists against this baseless lawsuit," a spokeswoman for the publication said.
In his complaint, Mr. Patel accused the defendants of "publishing an article filled with false and patently fabricated allegations designed to destroy Director Patel's reputation and force him out of office." He denied allegations that he "drinks to the point of obvious intoxication" at such establishments as Ned's, a members-only club in Washington, and the Poodle Room in Las Vegas.
"Director Patel does not abuse alcohol at these establishments or elsewhere, and this is not and has never been a concern to the government," the lawsuit says.
Mr. Patel also said in the lawsuit that The Atlantic published the article "despite being clearly warned hours before publication that the underlying allegations were categorically false."
He said in the lawsuit that the FBI was given less than two hours to comment on a list of 19 allegations provided to The Atlantic, and that its legal counsel sent the publication a letter denying the allegations, requesting more time to respond, and demanding that the article not be published.
The lawsuit is the latest in a series of lawsuits the Trump administration is bringing against the media over unfavorable coverage. Last week, a federal judge dismissed President Trump's lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal over a birthday card it sent to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, although Mr. Trump can refile the lawsuit. The President has also filed lawsuits in recent months against The New York Times, the BBC, CNN, and The Des Moines Register.
Previously, hackers linked to the Iranian government gained access to the personal email of US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel and published materials from his account.
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