FBI Director Kash Patel files $250 million lawsuit against The Atlantic over 'defamatory hit piece'

TL;DR

Reports differ across sources; according to fortune.com, fBI Director Kash Patel sued The Atlantic magazine for $250 million on Monday, claiming an article that talked about his alleged excessive drinking was false and a “malicious hit piece.” The Atlantic, in response, said it stood by its reporting and would vigorously defend against the “meritless lawsuit.” In the article, posted on the magazine’s website on Friday, author Sarah Fitzpatrick said Patel is deeply concerned about losing his job and that “he has good reasons to think so — including some having to do with what witnesses described to me as bouts of excessive drinking.” His behavior, including “both conspicuous inebriation and unexplained absences,” has alarmed officials at the FBI and Department of Justice, The Atlantic said.