The FBI director, Kash Patel, is denying allegations detailed in a new report that he drinks to excess and has been unreachable at times during his tenure in office.
Patel threatened to sue the Atlantic over the story published on Friday, which detailed his alleged heavy drinking and how members of his security detail have on multiple occasions had difficulty waking him.
It also stated that Patel is concerned he might soon be fired, according to current and former government officials.
Patel told the Atlantic: “Print it, all false, I’ll see you in court – bring your checkbook.”
On Saturday, Patel published an X post on his official FBI account addressed to what he called “the fake news” over “the hit piece lies you write about me”.
“Keep talking,” Patel wrote. “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.”
The allegations, attributed to two dozen current and former officials, are just the latest incidents to raise questions about Patel’s professionalism and ability to lead the top US federal law enforcement and intelligence agency.
He has faced criticism for prematurely announcing on social media that his agency had tracked down suspects in the murder of Charlie Kirk and in a shooting at Brown University; for using a government jet to see his girlfriend sing the national anthem at a wrestling match; and for traveling to Milan on an FBI jet to watch the US men’s hockey team compete in the finals and then chugging a beer with them in the locker room after they won.
A group of retired and active FBI agents also produced a report last year stating that Patel was “in over his head” and “lacks the requisite knowledge or deep understanding of all the FBI’s unique and complex investigative and intelligence programs”.
Despite his tumultuous tenure, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told the Atlantic in the latest report that since Trump took office, “Crime across the country has plummeted to the lowest level in more than 100 years and many high-profile criminals have been put behind bars. Director Patel remains a critical player on the administration’s law and order team.”
But the report states that Patel drinks heavily at clubs in Washington DC and Las Vegas, where he frequently spends weekends. Meetings and briefings have been rescheduled as a result of his alcohol-fueled nights, six current and former officials told the Atlantic.
Once, when Patel was behind locked doors and his security could not reach him last year, “a request for ‘breaching equipment’ – normally used by SWAT and hostage-rescue teams to quickly gain entry into buildings – was made”, journalist Sarah Fitzpatrick reported.
Officials also said that Patel’s behavior had become a threat to public safety and that they worried what would happen in the event of a domestic terrorist attack.
An FBI official told the Atlantic, “We’re all just waiting for the word” that Patel has been fired.
