Patel Sues Atlantic for $250M Over Drinking Claims

0:00On April 20th, FBI Director Cash Patel just slapped the Atlantic and reported Sara Fitzpatrick with a defamation lawsuit after they dropped a story, claiming he has a serious drinking issue that endangers national security. The piece accused him of showing up drunk, missing meetings, and delaying key FBI decisions, all based on over two dozen anonymous sources from the bill, Bureau and Justice Department. Patel fired back hard, calling it all lies, and filed the suit in federal court in Washington, D.C., seeking $250 million in. Damages. The article first hit with a headline about Patel's erratic behavior risking his job, then switched online to say the FBI Director is missing in. Action. It pointed to reschedule early meetings from his late nights boozing, and him being unreachable when investigations needed quick calls. Patel's team says the Atlantic ignored a last-minute letter from his lawyer on Friday afternoon, begging for time to debunk 19 specific claims. Before the story went live,

1:01just over two hours later, Patel went on Fox News and Writers, bowing to take them to court and telling them to bring their checkbooks. The FBI put out a statement through him denying everything flat out. Meanwhile, the Atlantic's top editor told CNBC they stand by every word of their reporting, even as Patel ramped up the threats. The lawsuit blasts, the Atlantic for skipping their denials and rushing to print, calling it proof of actual malice to trash his rep and push him out. They claim the mad cross from fair criticism into straight-up fabrication. This comes amid a wave of legal fights from Trump's circle folks against media outlets. Patel's move echoes other high-profile suits, like Trump's dismiss cases against CNN, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. But he's. Notched wins, too. ABC settled for $15 million, plus a million in fees, and Paramount paid $16 million over edited interview footage. Keep an eye on how this one plays out in court. This has been US News Today, powered by AI.