Kash Patel, in ‘Panic Mode,’ Orders Polygraphs for Security Detail, IT Staff in Hunt for Atlantic Sources: Report

The FBI has reportedly administered polygraph tests of more than two dozen current and former members of his security detail and other staffers after a series of unflattering articles published by the Atlantic magazine highlighted FBI Director Kash Patel’s alleged drinking problem, erratic leadership, and collection of whisky bottles bearing his personal branding.The polygraphs, as first reported by MSNOW, were ordered by Mr. Patel, 46, to identify more than two dozen anonymous sources that the Atlantic magazine reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick used in two of her articles. Mr. Patel is said to be in a “panic mode” amid the fallout from recent unflattering coverage and has “avoided” meetings with senior staff in the past week, per MSNOW. Those who were subjected to polygraph tests included members of his security detail and information technology staffers — any or all of whom have either traveled with Mr. Patel or have access to his personal information, MSNOW reported. In a statement to MSNOW, FBI spokesman Ben Williamson called the report “false,” adding that he had been in the usual leadership meetings with Mr. Patel “every day this week.”“The only people in panic are the ‘panicans’ in the media pushing out false stories because they spend zero time covering the record-breaking success in reduction in crime at this FBI,” Mr. Williamson said. On Wednesday, MSNOW reported that the FBI launched an “insider threat” investigation to examine possible unauthorized leaks to Ms. Fitzpatrick, whose explosive April 19 article, “The FBI Director is MIA,” reported unflattering details about Mr. Patel’s alleged drinking problems and erratic job performance. Mr. Patel later filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against both Ms. Fitzpatrick and the Atlantic, a publication that has never shied away from fierce criticism of President Trump and his Cabinet members. However, an FBI spokesman, Ben Williamson, emphatically denied MSNOW’s report, adding that “the reporter is not being investigated.”“Every time there’s a publication of false claims by anonymous sources that gets called out, the media plays the victim via investigations that do not exist,” Mr. Williamson said on X.Moments later, Ms. Fitzpatrick released her latest unflattering report on Mr. Patel — this time about his collection of personalized bottles of Woodford Reserve whiskey that twice feature his name, spelled “Ka$h Patel,” and his job title.Indeed, several former agents tell the Sun that it was not uncommon for special agents in charge or assistant directors to give their squads personalized bottles of whiskey featuring the FBI seal and motto. However, Mr. Patel is likely the first FBI director to feature a wizard’s cap and use a dollar sign when spelling out his name, twice, on a whiskey bottle.In a statement to the Atlantic, an FBI spokesman said Mr. Patel had followed all ethical guidelines and “pays for any personal gift himself.”

Kash Patel, in ‘Panic Mode,’ Orders Polygraphs for Security Detail, IT Staff in Hunt for Atlantic Sources: Report

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