Kash Patel has gone to President Donald Trump’s favorite news network to rail against the “fake news mafia” after being accused of excessive drinking in a bombshell report from The Atlantic.
The FBI director appeared on Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo and was asked for his response to the article. Patel, 46, began with a long rant about the effectiveness of his agency, before taking a leaf out of Trump’s book by promising immediate legal desolation.
“So, you know what? They can beat their drums and stand next to toxic waste all they want, but that doesn’t make it toxic waste,” he began, before announcing: “And, Maria, I’m happy to announce on your show, that we are not going to take this laying down. You want to attack my character, come at me, bring it on. I’ll see you in court.”
“So you’re going to sue them?,” the Fox News host asked, with Patel confirming: “Absolutely. It’s coming tomorrow.”
Asked whether he will be “dropping a lawsuit” against the Atlantic on Monday, Patel confirmed: “Yes. Yes, I will, for defamation and because, you know what, Maria? We have to fight back against the fake news. It’s one of the many things that President Trump is so successful at in leading out on, because no one is attacked as baselessly and as much as he is.
“And our leaders that get attacked under his brilliant leadership must do the same.”
The former director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives then celebrated his “historic prolific year of crime reduction” in the FBI, before laying out more symbolic speech in his fight against the media.
“So we’re going to get after the fight, and if the fake news mafia wants to, you know, ring their drum as loud as they can, they’re never going to stop me from completing the mission that President Trump asked me to do, which is safeguarding America. And we’re doing it better than ever before,” he vowed.
The Daily Beast has reached out to The Atlantic for comment.
In The Atlantic’s Friday report, more than two dozen people familiar with Patel’s conduct alleged troubling incidents, including excessive drinking and moving meetings after drinking the night before. Patel has firmly denied the claims.
The director has previously drawn scrutiny after being caught on camera chugging a beer with the men’s hockey team after their Winter Olympics win.
Patel wrote on X Saturday, “Memo to the fake news - the only time I’ll ever actually be concerned about the hit piece lies you write about me will be when you stop.
“Keep talking, 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.”
