FBI Director Kash Patel Suing The Atlantic for Article About His Drinking and Bizarre Behavior, More than 2 Dozen Witnesses Cited by The Atlantic

In the article, “The FBI Director Is MIA,” Fitzpatrick cited more than two dozen anonymous “witnesses” who among other things alleged that Patel had engaged in “bouts of excessive drinking” and “unexplained absences” that “often alarmed officials at the FBI and the Department of Justice.”

“Several officials told me that Patel’s drinking has been a recurring source of concern across the government. They said that he is known to drink to the point of obvious intoxication,” Fitzpatrick reported in the Atlantic article. “Early in his tenure, meetings and briefings had to be rescheduled for later in the day as a result of his alcohol-fueled nights, six current and former officials and others familiar with Patel’s schedule told me.”

Fitzpatrick’s piece also said that “on multiple occasions in the past year,” members of the FBI director’s security detail “had difficulty waking Patel because he was seemingly intoxicated, according to information supplied to Justice Department and White House officials.” In addition, according to the Atlantic article, “A request for ‘breaching equipment’ — normally used by SWAT and hostage-rescue teams to quickly gain entry into buildings — was made last year because Patel had been unreachable behind locked doors, according to multiple people familiar with the request.”

The Atlantic story also said that “some of Patel’s colleagues at the FBI worry that his personal behavior has become a threat to public safety.”

Patel “is deeply concerned that his job is in jeopardy,” according to the Atlantic report. The publication had reported earlier this month that Patel was among the officials expected to be ousted after President Trump fired U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on April 2.

“’We’re all just waiting for the word’ that Patel is officially out of the top job, an FBI official told me this week, and a former official told my colleague Jonathan Lemire that Patel was ‘rightly paranoid,’” according to Fitzpatrick’s report, adding that “Senior members of the Trump administration are already discussing who might replace him.”