Beleaguered FBI Director Kash Patel has contradicted statements in his own lawsuit during a press briefing that went dramatically off the rails.
Patel, 46, was described as a heavy drinker prone to erratic moods and paranoia, which have impacted his job performance and potentially national security in an explosive report by The Atlantic.
The report opened with a claim that Patel was having a “freak-out” when he had trouble logging into an internal computer system, believing he’d been fired from the White House.
In response, Patel filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit, accusing The Atlantic of publishing false and damaging claims.
On Tuesday, Patel became defensive when asked about the claims on during a press conference alongside acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche.
After being asked to “explain the computer lockout issue” by NBC News correspondent Ryan Reilly, Patel asked the assembled media, “Let’s have a survey. How many of you people believe that’s true?”
Though his own complaint claims that “the FBI expressly informed Defendants that the firing rumor was a ‘made-up rumor,’ and that the ’freak-out’ and job-jeopardy claims were fabricated,” it explicitly includes the statement, “Director Patel had a routine technical problem logging into a government system, which was quickly fixed.”
Reilly followed up, asking Patel if he had communicated with anyone after fearing he’d lost his job. The FBI director avoided the question.
“The problem with you and your baseless reporting is that is an absolute lie. It was never said, it never happened, and I will serve in this administration as long as the president and attorney general want me to do so.”
Patel then complained that he was being asked about “false lies” and “baseless questions” when he and Blanche were trying to discuss fraud charges against the Southern Poverty Law Center, and he was being taken “off topic.”
Reilly repeated it was a “straightforward question.”
“The simple answer to your question is, ‘You are lying.’ I’ve answered your question, it’s simply as follows… I was never locked out of my systems.”
After the journalist stated that Patel’s own lawsuit referenced the computer glitch, the FBI Director deflected again. “Anyone that says the opposite is lying.”
When Reilly attempted to get a straight answer from Patel, again pointing out his own lawsuit directly says the opposite to what he had just stated, Patel stepped away from the microphone and let Blanche take over.
Addressing Reilly, Blanche, who had been standing to the side with his arms crossed, said, “Look, man, stop. You’re being extraordinarily rude. And I know that’s maybe part of your profession, but please just stop. If you ask a question, he can answer it.”
Reilly again pointed out that his question wasn’t answered, leading Blanche to intervene. “Now you’re interrupting me,” he shot back.
The unhinged press conference also saw Blanche admit he “absolutely did not” read The Atlantic report on Patel, despite the FBI director’s role meaning they report to the attorney general.
When asked if he had any concerns about claims of Patel’s drinking, Blanche stated, “I have a lot of concerns. And my concerns are completely around the anonymous reporting that comes forth constantly.”
When Patel was asked to “say definitively” he had not been intoxicated or absent during his tenure as FBI Director, he again deflected. “I can say unequivocally that I never listen to the fake news mafia.”
Referring to himself in the third person, Patel said, “This FBI director has been on the job twice as many days as every director before me. What that means is, I’ve taken half as many days off as those before me.”
After listing his achievements, Patel did eventually deny the alcohol-based claims in a statement where he touched on footage of him chugging a beer with the U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team after their gold-medal win in February that went viral.
“I’m like an everyday American who loves his country, loves the sport of hockey, and champions my friends when they raise a gold medal and invite me in to celebrate,” Patel said. “I’ve never been intoxicated on the job, and that’s why we filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit. Any one of you who wants to participate, bring it on. I’ll see you in court.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the FBI for comment.
Patel told The Atlantic in a statement last week, “Print it, all false, I’ll see you in court—bring your checkbook."
A spokesperson for the publication said on Monday, “We stand by our reporting on Kash Patel, and we will vigorously defend The Atlantic and our journalists against this meritless lawsuit.”
Kash lost a separate lawsuit on Tuesday, when a federal judge threw out a case he made against an ex-FBI employee.
Former FBI official Frank Figliuzzi had told MS NOW’s Morning Joe that Patel has “been visible at nightclubs far more than he has been on the seventh floor of” the bureau’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.
U.S. District Court Judge George Hanks Jr. dismissed Patel’s defamation lawsuit in Houston. “The Court finds that Figliuzzi’s statement is rhetorical hyperbole that cannot constitute defamation,” he said.
“Accordingly, Dir. Patel has failed to state a claim against Figliuzzi, and his lawsuit must be dismissed.”
