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FBI Director Kash Patel said Tuesday he’s “never been intoxicated on the job,” following a report published in The Atlantic last week that alleged he has had “bouts of excessive drinking” and job performance issues.
Asked about the article during an unrelated press conference on Tuesday, Patel railed against negative media coverage.
“I can say unequivocally that I never listen to the fake news mafia and as when they get louder, it just means I’m doing my job,” Patel said.
FBI Director Kash Patel speaks during a press conference at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., on April 21, 2026.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
He added, “I’ve never been intoxicated on the job, and that is why we filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit. And any one of you that wants to participate, bring it on.”
On Monday, Patel followed through on a promise to sue The Atlantic over the article, demanding $250 million in damages.
The April 17 Atlantic article alleged drinking has led to multiple unexplained absences by Patel and concern across the government.
Speaking at the same press conference on Tuesday, acting Attorney Todd Blanche said he hadn’t read the article but also sought to dispute several details from it, saying it was based on anonymous sources and that certain parts of the article were “blatantly false.”
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks during a news conference at the Justice Department, on April 21, 2026, in Washington, D.C.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Responding to video from February when Patel was seen chugging a beer with members of the U.S. gold medal hockey team following their Olympic victory, Patel said: “I’m like an everyday American who loves his country, loves the sport of hockey, and champions my friends, when they raise a gold medal and invite me in to celebrate.”
The Atlantic said it stands by its reporting.
“We stand by our reporting on Kash Patel, and we will vigorously defend The Atlantic and our journalists against this meritless lawsuit,” the Atlantic said in a statement.
In a statement to ABC News earlier this week, Patel said the story “is a lie.”
“They were given the truth before they published, and they chose to print falsehoods anyway,” Patel said in the statement. “I took this job to protect the American people and this FBI has delivered the most prolific reduction in crime in US history. Fake news won’t report it, and their toxicity will never erode nor stop our Mission.”
