The Atlantic published an article alleging that Kash Patel has a serious drinking problem, including episodes of excessive drinking, unexplained absences, and behavior that alarmed colleagues, according to the article by Sarah Fitzpatrick citing anonymous sources. Patel has filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic and Fitzpatrick, according to multiple reports. Patel denied the allegations, stating he has never been intoxicated on the job and that the claims are false. The Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg and reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick stood by the reporting, saying they stand by their reporting and that the story is accurate and based on multiple sources.
House Democrats, led by Rep. Jamie Raskin, are investigating Patel's alleged alcohol abuse and have requested he submit to an Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test by April 28, according to multiple reports. White House officials are reportedly discussing potential successors for Patel following The Atlantic report, according to anonymous sources. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt praised Patel's leadership and credited him with a drop in crime rates, stating that Patel is doing an outstanding job as FBI Director and that under his leadership crime rates have dropped significantly.
I have never been intoxicated on the job. These claims are false.
Patel has threatened reporters that they could face legal consequences if they echo the allegations, stating that if they echo these false allegations they will face legal consequences. He claimed that arrests are imminent in a conspiracy related to the 2020 election, stating he has evidence backing President Trump's claims of a stolen election. Patel also claimed he is the first one in and last one out at work, and that his efforts have resulted in fewer murders, fewer opioid deaths, and more espionage arrests.
A defamation lawsuit Patel filed against former FBI official Frank Figliuzzi was dismissed by a Texas court, ruling the statement was rhetorical hyperbole, according to multiple reports. The FBI investigated New York Times reporter Elizabeth Williamson for alleged stalking after she published an article about Patel's use of bureau personnel for his girlfriend's security detail, according to multiple reports.
Kash Patel is doing an outstanding job as FBI Director. Under his leadership, crime rates have dropped significantly.
The FBI fired at least 10 employees who worked on Jack Smith's classified documents investigation into President Trump, multiple sources told CBS News. The firings occurred after Reuters reported that the FBI had subpoenaed records of phone calls made by FBI Director Kash Patel and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles when they were private citizens as part of Smith's probe into Trump. All fired FBI agents and analysts were involved in the classified documents case, according to multiple sources. Jack Smith's investigations led to the first federal criminal indictments against a former president. The classified document charges were dismissed by a federal judge in Florida in mid-2024 because Smith was unlawfully appointed. Jack Smith dropped the 2020 election charges after Trump won the 2024 election. The Justice Department fired prosecutors who worked on Jack Smith's team, and the FBI fired agents involved in the Arctic Frost election investigation.
Patel alleged that the FBI secretly subpoenaed his phone records using flimsy pretexts and burying the process in prohibited case files to evade oversight. Reuters did not independently verify Patel's claims. Patel did not provide evidence of wrongdoing by the staff who were terminated. A source familiar with the matter confirmed that Susie Wiles' records were reviewed as part of the documents case. CBS News was unable to verify whether Kash Patel's records were subpoenaed. In the 2020 election case (Arctic Frost), Patel's records were not subpoenaed, according to a source familiar with the matter.
If you echo these false allegations, you will face legal consequences.
The FBI Agents Association condemned the firings, saying they violate due process rights and weaken the Bureau, stating that these firings violate due process rights and weaken the Bureau and that they condemn them.
Several unknowns remain. It is unclear whether Kash Patel's phone records were actually subpoenaed by the FBI in the classified documents investigation, as Reuters reported, or whether they were not, as CBS News could not verify and a source said they were not in the Arctic Frost case. It is also unknown whether Patel engaged in excessive drinking or erratic behavior while on duty as FBI Director, as The Atlantic alleged. The specific evidence Patel claims to have regarding the 2020 election conspiracy has not been made public. It is unclear whether House Democrats' request for Patel to undergo an alcohol screening will be enforced. The full extent of the FBI's firings and whether they are retaliatory also remains unknown.
I am the first one in and last one out at work. My efforts have resulted in fewer murders, fewer opioid deaths, and more espionage arrests.