Kash Patel Sues The Atlantic for $250 Million Over Article Alleging Excessive Drinking

S. , on Monday. The lawsuit seeks $250 million in compensatory, special, and punitive damages from The Atlantic and Sarah Fitzpatrick.

It also seeks disgorgement of all income earned by The Atlantic and Sarah Fitzpatrick from the article about Kash Patel. The Atlantic article's subhead states that FBI Director Kash Patel has alarmed colleagues with episodes of excessive drinking and unexplained absences. The lawsuit claims the article contains 17 specific false and defamatory statements about Kash Patel.

While in the presence of White House and other administration staff. Another claim in the article states that Kash Patel drinks to excess at the Poodle Room in Las Vegas, where he frequently spends parts of his weekends. The article claims that on multiple occasions in the past year, members of Kash Patel's security detail had difficulty waking him because he was seemingly intoxicated.

The article reports that a request for breaching equipment was made last year because Kash Patel had been unreachable behind locked doors. The lawsuit states that Kash Patel does not drink to excess at these establishments or anywhere else. The lawsuit alleges that The Atlantic and Sarah Fitzpatrick published the article with actual malice, despite being warned hours before publication that the central allegations were false.

Kash Patel wrote on X on 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. Kash Patel added on Fox Sunday Morning Futures: 'You want to attack my character?

Come at me. Bring it on. In a statement issued by his attorneys at the Binnall Law Group, Kash Patel said: 'The Atlantic's story is a lie. They were given the truth before they published, and they chose to print falsehoods anyway.

I took this job to protect the American people and this FBI has delivered the most prolific reduction in crime in US history. The lawsuit describes the article as a sweeping, malicious, and defamatory hit piece designed to destroy Patel's reputation and drive him from office.

It notes that public figures must show actual malice to prevail in defamation claims, as established by the Supreme Court's 1964 ruling in New York Times Company v.

Sullivan. The Poodle Room is a members-only social club atop the Fontainebleau Las Vegas hotel. Multiple sources reported that Patel had vowed to sue following the article's publication. Separately, Jersey Mike's Subs confidentially filed for an IPO, as the company stated on Monday.

One source estimated the company's valuation at around $12 billion in 2026, up from $8 billion in 2025.