FBI director Kash Patel sues The Atlantic for $250M over drinking claims

FBI Director Kash Patel filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic and writer Sarah Fitzpatrick over an article alleging he drank heavily at private clubs in Washington, D.C. and Las Vegas and was at times unreachable on the job, ABC7 Los Angeles reported.

The complaint alleges actual malice, claiming The Atlantic was warned hours before publication that the central allegations were false yet chose to publish the story anyway, according to the report by ABC7 Los Angeles.

Patel's lawsuit, filed against The Atlantic and writer Sarah Fitzpatrick, demands $250 million in damages. The article, published Friday evening, alleged the FBI director engaged in heavy drinking at private clubs in Washington, D.C. and Las Vegas and was "unreachable" at times, ABC7 Los Angeles reported.

Patel's legal team contends the publication had no basis for the claims. "Defendants published the Article with actual malice, despite being expressly warned, hours before publication, that the central allegations were categorically false; despite having abundant publicly available information contradicting those allegations," the lawsuit says, according to ABC7 Los Angeles.

The complaint further alleges The Atlantic harbored pre-existing animus against Patel, which his legal team cited as additional evidence supporting the actual malice claim.

The $250 million damages demand reflects Patel's contention that the article caused substantial harm to his reputation as the nation's top federal law enforcement official, the ABC7 Los Angeles report said.

The lawsuit was filed following The Atlantic's Friday evening publication of the story. Patel is seeking $250 million in total damages, according to ABC7 Los Angeles.