FBI Director Kash Patel has filed a $250m (£185m) defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic, accusing the magazine of publishing false and damaging claims about his conduct in office.
Patel alleges that the magazine published harmful claims, including accusations of excessive drinking and unexplained absences from duty.
The article, citing sources, also alleged that Patel’s conduct created a risk to public safety and national security.
The Atlantic has defended its reporting. To win a defamation suit in the US, public officials must demonstrate that a publisher acted with actual malice.
“We stand by our reporting on Kash Patel, and we will vigorously defend The Atlantic and our journalists against this meritless lawsuit,” the magazine said in a statement.
Patel appeared on Fox News on Sunday to respond to the report, and vowed he would file a lawsuit.
The lawsuit stated that the story included “false and obviously fabricated allegations designed to destroy Director Patel’s reputation and drive him from office”.
It lists a number of excerpts from the article that it alleges are “false and defamatory statements of fact”.
It also alleges that The Atlantic did not give Patel adequate time to respond to a detailed list of allegations in the article, and ignored a “pre-publication” letter sent by his legal representative.
The lawsuit states The Atlantic gave the parties two hours to respond.
“They were on notice that the claims were categorically false and defamatory. They published anyway, “Jesse Binnell, an attorney representing Patel posted on X, along with a letter he sent to The Atlantic.
The US Supreme Court in 1964 ruled that to win a defamation suit, public officials must demonstrate that a publisher exhibited “actual malice” in publishing the report – meaning the news organisation neglected to take critical steps in its reporting, or knew the content was false, but published it anyway.
The Atlantic’s reporter denied the allegations that the magazine did not properly seek comment.
“We reached out for comment to The White House, and to the Justice Department, neither of which disputed anything,” the reporter, Sarah Fitzpatrick, said in an interview with MSNBC. “We gave multiple opportunities, including 19 detailed, detailed questions. So we stand by every word.”
The magazine said the article was based on interviews with “more than two dozen people”.
It also included comments from the White House, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, and the FBI, which responded with a statement attributed to Patel that read, “Print it, all false, I’ll see you in court—bring your checkbook.”
Asked for comment by the BBC regarding the lawsuit, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that, “Under President Trump and Director Patel’s leadership at the FBI, 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.”
“Director Patel remains a critical player on the Administration’s law and order team,” Leavitt said.
The FBI did not immediately respond to the BBC’s request for comment.