FBI Director Kash Patel Files $250M Defamation Lawsuit Against The Atlantic Over Drinking Allegations

FBI Director Kash Patel has filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic, alleging the magazine published a false and damaging article about his alleged drinking habits.

The lawsuit, filed on Monday, claims The Atlantic "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 article, written by Sarah Fitzpatrick, alleged that Patel's drinking had been a "recurring source of concern across the government."

The piece cited six current and former officials who claimed that early in Patel's tenure, "meetings and briefings had to be rescheduled for later in the day as a result of his alcohol-fueled nights." It also alleged that, "on multiple occasions in the past year, members of his security detail had difficulty waking Patel because he was seemingly intoxicated," according to Justice Department and White House officials.

The lawsuit accuses The Atlantic of publishing the article "with actual malice," despite being warned hours before publication that the central allegations were false. It also claims Fitzpatrick relied on "anonymous sources she knew to be both highly partisan with an ax to grind and also not in a position to know the facts."

The suit further alleges that The Atlantic's "conduct toward Director Patel is part of a broader and well-documented pattern. Numerous Atlantic pieces over the past two years have characterized Director Patel as unqualified, dangerous, corrupt, or mentally unstable."

Patel's History of Defamation Cases

Although the bar for proving defamation of a public official is high, Patel has been awarded damages for defamation before. In 2023, Patel sued Substack writer Jim Stewartson for libel, alleging Stewartson had spread "pernicious lies about Mr. Patel, including accusing him of committing sedition, helping to plan illegal riots on January 6, working to overthrow the government, paying people to lie to Congress, and being an agent of Russia." The lawsuit also alleged that Stewartson's statements damaged the reputation of Patel's non-profit, the Kash Foundation.

In 2025, a federal judge granted Patel's motion for a default judgment. The judge acknowledged that Patel's reputation was not "significantly sullied" by the defamatory statements but still found that "Stewartson's statements were defamatory and caused presumed damages." The judge then awarded Patel and his foundation $250,000 in punitive and compensatory damages against Stewartson.

Stewartson told CNBC he was "never served with this lawsuit" and planned to pursue his "own case against them for their years-long campaign of abuse of me and the legal system."

The Atlantic's Response

The Atlantic released a statement calling Patel's lawsuit "meritless" and vowed to "vigorously defend" its journalists against the litigation.

Patel is not the only member of the Trump administration who has sued the press for defamation. Former President Donald Trump has sued several outlets, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Des Moines Register, and CNN.