‘See You in Court’: Kash Patel Threatens To Sue Reporter, Magazine After Story Alleges Excessive Drinking, Erratic Behavior

FBI Director Kash Patel is pushing back at an explosive new report that he is “deeply concerned” he may be the next Trump official to be dismissed for his “erratic” performance in the role and concerns over his allegedly excessive drinking. Mr. Patel’s personal attorney, Jesse R. Binnall, posted on X the letter he had sent to Atlantic reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick before publication, demanding the publisher remove several “defamatory statements” from its coverage. “They published anyway. See you in court,” Mr. Binnall wrote on X Friday evening.The Atlantic Magazine, a publication long critical of President Trump, reported that Mr. Patel believed he had been fired last week after he was unable to log into an internal FBI computer system. That same day, the government-owned private plane that Mr. Patel regularly travels on had also flown from Maryland to Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, where the 45-year-old has a residence, which only fueled speculation that he had been fired, according to flight records.The magazine reported that Mr. Patel had a “freak-out” over his computer access issues and was “frantically calling aides and allies to announce that he had been fired by the White House.”Several law enforcement sources tell the Sun that Mr. Patel’s “access issue” that day prompted an unidentified employee within the FBI to tip off several reporters about his firing. However, a member of the FBI’s Office of Public Affairs contacted White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, who denied that Mr. Patel had been dismissed, several FBI sources tell the Sun. The technical error was corrected, and Mr. Patel was still the FBI Director as of press time. Kash Patel (L) posing with a member of the FBI National Academy at Quantico during the FBI-UFC seminar. InstagramHowever, the Atlantic reports that Mr. Patel’s job security remains tenuous due to concerns over his “conspicuous inebriation” and for heavy drinking at the Washington members-only Ned’s Club while in the presence of White House staff. Last year, members of Mr. Patel’s security detail requested “breaching equipment” to gain access to a locked room where the “unresponsive” FBI Director was in, The Atlantic reported. “A reasonable and responsible pre-publication investigation, including a simple request to the FBI for relevant documentary evidence, would have quickly disproven this claim and many of the others,” Mr. Binnall writes in his letter to The Atlantic. “Director Patel will have no choice but to take swift legal action to uphold his reputation,” Mr. Binnall wrote in his letter to the magazine. In a statement to The Atlantic, Mr. Patel said, “print it, all false. I’ll see you in court — bring your checkbook.” In the past, Mr. Patel has taken legal action against the media. Since 2019, Mr. Patel has sued Politico, CNN, and the New York Times — cases he either withdrew or had dismissed. Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel looks on prior to the Men’s Gold Medal match between Canada and the United States on day 16 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 22, 2026 in Milan, Italy. Elsa/Getty ImagesMost recently, Mr. Patel sued a former FBI official and MSNBC national security analyst, Frank Figliuzzi, for claiming on “Morning Joe” that the FBI director has been “visible at nightclubs far more than he has been on the seventh floor of the Hoover Building.” That lawsuit is still ongoing.Earlier in August, Mr. Patel and his eponymous foundation, The Kash Foundation, were awarded $250,000 in compensatory and punitive damages related to their defamation suit against blogger Jim Stewartson, who claimed Mr. Patel was a “Kremlin asset” and paid people to “lie to Congress.”Mr. Patel’s drinking has been under scrutiny after videos circulated on social media showing him pounding a celebratory beer and singing Toby Keith with the boys from the United States hockey team — just moments after they captured their first gold medal in years. Many FBI rank and file, current and retired, saw the video as a reflection of an unserious person who was disinterested in the day-to-day of the role, but head-over-heels in love with its perks. While Mr. Trump is “pleased” by Mr. Patel’s efforts to fire agents who worked on the Biden Administration’s investigations of Mr. Trump — including Special Counsel Jack Smith’s Mar-A-Lago documents and January 6 cases — he has also been irked by the FBI director’s tendency to appear “unprepared for TV appearances,” The Atlantic reported. After footage of Mr. Patel’s locker room celebration circulated on social media,Kash Patel and his girlfriend Alexis Wilkins at a wrestling match where she performed the National Anthem. InstagramMr. Trump reportedly called Mr. Patel to “convey his unhappiness” over his locker room antics in Milan.FBI officials have also been concerned about Mr. Patel’s “rushed” decision to fire some veterans of the Mar-a-Lago probe who were, at the time of their firing, members of a counterintelligence squad that specialized in threats from countries that included Iran. The specifics of these firings were first reported by the Sun. In a statement to The Atlantic, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said, “Patel has accomplished more in 14 months than the previous administration did in four years. Anonymously sourced hit pieces do not constitute journalism.”

‘See You in Court’: Kash Patel Threatens To Sue Reporter, Magazine After Story Alleges Excessive Drinking, Erratic Behavior

More from the New York Sun

Israel and Lebanon Coordinate Aid Convoy to Christian Villages in Combat Zone

Emerging Claim That Targeting Civilian Infrastructure Is a War Crime Proves a Bridge Too Far

Stanford Calls Bluff on Students Using Jain Faith To Dodge Meal Plan

South Florida GOP Congresswoman’s Immigration Reform Bill Sparks Backlash From Colleagues, Conservative Commentariat

Middle-Class Americans Prove the Biggest Winners From Trump’s Tax Cuts in the Big Beautiful Bill

In a Funeral for Economic Liberty, the Casket Cartel Seeks To Bury the Competition

The Double Tragedy of the Jewish Bund

Borrowing a Page From El Salvador’s Bukele, Ecuadoran President Welcomes American Troops To Assist With His Drug Gang Crackdown