Kash Patel files $250M defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic over ‘hit piece’ on his FBI leadership
FBI director Kash Patel has filed a lawsuit against The Atlantic and journalist Sarah Fitzpatrick over what his lawyers have labeled a “sweeping, malicious and defamatory hit piece” about his leadership at the agency.
A profile published over the weekend characterized Patel as a deeply paranoid figure prone to drinking to excess and whose behavior has alarmed officials at the law enforcement agency and across Donald Trump’s administration.
Patel immediately threatened to sue the magazine following its publication.
“Defendants are of course free to criticize the leadership of the FBI, but they crossed the legal line by publishing an article replete with false and obviously fabricated allegations designed to destroy Director Patel’s reputation and drive him from office,” according to a lawsuit filed in Washington, D.C. on Monday.
The suit is seeking “compensatory, special, and punitive damages” no less than $250 million, as well as the “disgorgement of all income Defendants have earned by virtue of their lies about Director Patel.”
“We stand by our reporting on Kash Patel, and we will vigorously defend The Atlantic and our journalists against this meritless lawsuit,” the outlet said in a statement to The Independent.
This is a developing story
