Newsom Torches Keystone Kash With Drunken ‘Night Out’ Reveal
The California governor posted an AI-generated video mocking the FBI director over a damning new report.
Brian Snyder/REUTERS
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has mocked Kash Patel after the FBI director was accused of alienating top officials with excessive drinking in a bombshell new report.
“JUST SEEN: KASH’S NIGHT OUT!” Newsom, 58, posted on X on Saturday, attaching a short AI-generated video of Patel, 46, being escorted by two security guards as he stumbles about in an apparently drunken state.
Newsom’s post came as Patel vowed to sue over a Friday report in The Atlantic alleging that more than two dozen people familiar with the FBI director’s conduct have described his tenure as marked by excessive drinking, erratic behavior, and unexplained absences.
The report cited unnamed officials who are said to have described Patel as a national security risk and said he was known to drink beyond obvious intoxication, sometimes in the presence of White House officials and other administration staff.
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In response, an FBI spokesperson provided a statement from Patel denying the allegations, while Patel also posted a message on X directed at The Atlantic’s editorial team: “See you and your entire entourage of false reporting in court...”
In response to a request for comment, a White House spokesperson cited White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who said that under Patel’s leadership as FBI director, “crime across the country has plummeted to the lowest level in more than 100 years and many high-profile criminals have been put behind bars.”
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“Director Patel remains a critical player on the Administration’s law and order team,” the statement added.

Kash Patel responded to The Atlantic's report by promising to see the outlet's editorial team "in court."
FBI Director Kash Patel/X
President Donald Trump has not yet commented publicly on the claims in the report. But back in February, after real footage from the Winter Olympics in Italy showed Patel chugging a beer while mingling with Team USA, Trump reportedly scolded the FBI director in private for his antics.
The hockey-mad FBI director had called Trump, 79, during his raucous celebration. Trump famously does not drink after his brother struggled with alcohol abuse. “I got it, boss, I got it!” Patel was heard spluttering as Trump spoke on the phone.
Friday’s bombshell report also said the FBI director has grown paranoid about losing his job, with one former FBI official saying he is “rightly paranoid.”
FBI Director Kash Patel reportedly fears for his job after two top cabinet officials were fired.
Jonathan Ernst/Jonathan Ernst/REUTERS
The revelation comes after Trump fired two top Cabinet officials, former Attorney General Pam Bondi and former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and was said to be plotting a wider shakeup.
Patel has also previously come under scrutiny after it was revealed he used taxpayer-funded jets to travel to visit his 27-year-old girlfriend, Alexis Wilkins, in Nashville.

FBI Director Kash Patel speaks as his girlfriend Alexis Wilkins (C) looks on during his swearing-in ceremony on Feb. 21, 2025, in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
In response to Patel’s frequent jet use, Newsom called out the “waste,” “fraud,” and “abuse” on display by the FBI director.
Patel has also been criticized for his handling of the investigation into the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, as well as the deadly shooting at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. In both cases, Patel was accused of prematurely announcing breakthroughs that turned out to be wrong.
One official told The Atlantic that concerns about how Patel would act in the event of a domestic terrorist attack are what “keeps me up at night.”
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