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Kash Patel moves to sue Atlantic over “MIA” allegations
Patel listed out FBI’s wins and asked how the agency managed it if he was not working.
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Jeffin T. Kaleekal - Mon, 20, Apr 2026
- 04:13 EDT
- 138
Kash Patel / Wikimedia commons
FBI Director Kash Patel has announced his plans to sue The Atlantic after the latter published reports alleging excessive drinking and frequent absence against Patel.
The Atlantic magazine, earlier this week, published an article titled, “The FBI Director Is MIA.” The report cited Atlantic’s conversations with over two dozen people, including current and former FBI officials, members of Congress, hospitality industry workers and others, accusing Patel of being drunk frequently and also being frequently absent from office and thereby hurting the agency’s functioning.
Patel lashed out against the article on X and said, “Memo to the fake news — the only time I’ll ever actually be concerned about the hit piece lies you write about me will be when you stop.”
He continued, “Keep talking, it means I’m doing exactly what I should be doing. And no amount of BS you write will ever deter this FBI from making America safe again and taking down the criminals you love.”
Patel later appeared in an interview with Fox News and accused the magazine of peddling fake news and claimed that he will sue Atlantic on April 20 for defamation.
ALSO READ: Amb Gor holds talks with Kash Patel, Vance in Washington
Patel told Fox News, “I won't tolerate their attacks on me, because they are indirect attacks on the men and women of the FBI that we've cleaned up.”
Patel continued, “If the fake news mafia wants to, you know, ring their drumbeat as loud as they can, they're never going to stop me from completing the mission that President Donald Trump asked me to do, which is safeguarding America.”
WOW! FBI Director Kash Patel is SUING The Atlantic after they reported he gets drunk all the time and constantly has "unexplained absences"
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 19, 2026
"You want to attack my character? Come at me. I'LL SEE YOU IN COURT!"
"Absolutely. [The lawsuit] is coming TOMORROW. FOR DEFAMATION."… pic.twitter.com/7X5PqQlP3p
Hailing the FBI, Patel claimed that the agency had the most prolific year in crime reduction in United States history under his charge. Patel claimed a 20% reduction in the homicide rate, a 20-point drop in opioid overdose deaths and also claimed to have found and identified 6,300 child victims.
He listed out all the achievements of the FBI, including the war on the fentanyl crisis, and said, “So if I'm not doing my job, if I'm not working, then how is it that the FBI delivered the safest America under President Trump's leadership in the history of our country?”
Patel’s threat to sue comes less than a week after a federal judge dismissed President Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal for publishing a report linking him to the disgraced financier and convict Jeffrey Epstein.
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