We watched on Thursday as the entertainment zine "Variety," and CNN international anchor Christiane Amanpour, crashed and burned in their attempts to own Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. However, legacy media is committed to its mission to take out the Trump administration cabinet, especially the ones they really cannot stand: like Hegseth and FBI Director Kash Patel. The end result of these quixotic campaigns is the media beclowning themselves, as "The Atlantic" has now done.
On Friday night, The Atlantic released an anonymously sourced hit piece on Patel titled, "The FBI Director Is MIA: Kash Patel has alarmed colleagues with episodes of excessive drinking and unexplained absences." The article begins with an anecdotal story about Patel supposedly losing access to his computer, and freaking out so much that he assumed he had been fired. It rambles on with "people familiar with the matter" sourcing, peppered with quotes from people who actually matter: like White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.
But Patel, according to multiple current officials, as well as former officials who have stayed close to him, is deeply concerned that his job is in jeopardy. He has good reasons to think so—including some having to do with what witnesses described to me as bouts of excessive drinking. My colleague Ashley Parker and I reported earlier this month that Patel was among the officials expected to be fired after Attorney General Pam Bondi’s ouster, on April 2. “We’re all just waiting for the word” that Patel is officially out of the top job, an FBI official told me this week, and a former official told my colleague Jonathan Lemire that Patel was “rightly paranoid.” Senior members of the Trump administration are already discussing who might replace him, according to an administration official and two people close to the White House who were familiar with the conversations.
Fridays are usually the day when politicians and government departments and agencies throw out the news and information that's forgettable or that they don't want anyone to notice. Director Patel, and people who actually work alongside him, did notice this naked attempt at teardown, and quickly pushed back.
Benjamin Williamson, Assistant Director of the FBI Office of Public Affairs wrote to the fauxnalist who authored the hit piece:
Top to bottom, this is one of the most absurd things I've ever read. Completely false at nearly 100% clip. And with a two hour deadline.
Copying my colleague Erica. We'll get you some more thorough responses.
Patel posted an image of this correspondence with the message, "see you and your entire entourage of false reporting in court."
see you and your entire entourage of false reporting in court... But do keep at it with the fake news, actual malice standard is now what some would call a legal lay up. https://t.co/MfbHH8OtLv pic.twitter.com/kw5U3LrfMM
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) April 18, 2026
You would think between the embarrassment (to The Atlantic) over Signalgate, and their made up "suckers and losers" mess, that The Atlantic would quit while they were behind. But apparently not. Litigator Jesse R. Binnall even corresponded with The Atlantic before the hit piece dropped, giving detailed accounting on exactly what the article got wrong. Binnall warned that should they move forward to publish the article without correcting the record, they would be subject to legal action.
This is the letter we sent to The Atlantic and Sarah Fitzpatrick BEFORE they published their hit piece on FBI Director @FBIDirectorKash. They were on notice that the claims were categorically false and defamatory. They published anyway.
— Jesse R. Binnall (@jbinnall) April 17, 2026
See you in court. pic.twitter.com/Ke8cqNh8hY
Williamson's colleague Erica Knight wrote a detailed breakdown on just how this nonsense came about. According to Knight, every other D.C. publication were privy to these rumors and allegations. Some had had them pitched directly to them, and gave it a hard pass. But The Atlantic? They said, "Hold my beer."
The Atlantic published a "bombshell" on Director Patel tonight that every real DC reporter chased, couldn't verify, and passed on.
— Erica Knight (@_EricaKnight) April 17, 2026
Here's reality. Since being sworn in, Director Patel has taken a grand total of 17 days off — half as much time off as Comey and Wray — and he…
The Atlantic published a "bombshell" on Director Patel tonight that every real DC reporter chased, couldn't verify, and passed on.
Here's reality. Since being sworn in, Director Patel has taken a grand total of 17 days off — half as much time off as Comey and Wray — and he spends twice as much time in the office as either of them ever did. The so-called "intoxication incidents" The Atlantic breathlessly reports have happened exactly ZERO times. Under his tenure: 67,000 arrests nationwide. Violent crime arrests up 112%. Murder rate down 20%. 1,800 criminal gangs dismantled. 2,200+ kilos of fentanyl seized — enough to kill 178 million Americans. 300 human traffickers arrested. 6,200+ missing children recovered. 1,700 online predators arrested — a 490% increase. 8 of the Top Ten Most Wanted captured, double the previous four years combined. 1,000+ agents redeployed from DC bureaucracy back to field offices chasing criminals.
The Atlantic's "reporting"? Fabricated stories about "breaching equipment" that was never requested. Intoxication claims with not a single witness willing to put their name on one. A paragraph — I'm not kidding — about the FBI Store not carrying "intimidating enough" merchandise. Every serious DC reporter passed on this. Sarah Fitzpatrick and Jeffrey Goldberg printed it anyway.
Knight ended with an affirmation of what Patel said: "lawsuit is being filed."
Read More: Hot Takes: Stolen Valor Is Alleged After 'Journalist' Takes Her Hegseth Derangement Syndrome Too Far
The sad reality: The Atlantic has money to burn and lawyers on speed dial willing to do their bidding. Their only care is how much mileage they can get out of their fake scandals and false narratives, especially when it comes to furthering their Trump Derangement Syndrome.
Clint Brown, Patel's "Sherpa" during his FBI confirmation process, responded on X to the article's author, and in so many words said exactly what is stated above.
Your anon sourced story is BS.
Oh and by the way, it was no pressure campaign that got Kash confirmed. He did his homework, studied every brief I wrote him (and I wrote them all personally). If I sent him material at say 2am, he would respond with questions by 3am. He was always available and never hard to reach. Ultimately, he addressed any concerns senators had. He studied the law enforcement issues in each of their states and came prepared with plans, ideas, and questions for addressing the unique law enforcement needs of each state. THAT is who Kash Patel is and it’s why the FBI has been so effective in the last year.
I’ve never once seen him over drink. Not once. You are spinning that narrative because you know POTUS doesn’t view that favorably, even admitted as much in your story.
And I’m not hard to find. Pretty obvious why you didn’t reach out to me for comment.
Hey @S_Fitzpatrick I was Kash Patel’s Sherpa on the transition. I spent nearly all day everyday with him for 3+ months and have been with him frequently since.
— Clint Brown (@DissidentClint) April 18, 2026
I have never seen the type of behavior that you’re describing from him.
Your anon sourced story is BS.
Oh and by the… https://t.co/hwWnUrYrKT pic.twitter.com/T0EUhyKbq0
If this was such a bombshell as the author claimed, then Journalism 101 dictates at least two credible sources to corroborate your claims, especially when that type of verification is readily available. It appears the FBI Office of Public Affairs, and people like Clint Brown, were more than willing to share credible information with The Atlantic for the story. But pushing out an email for comment from a high-ranking government official just two hours before publication is clearly an attempt at ambush. The Atlantic wasn't looking for anything credible, they were simply trying to get another notch on their belt.
As my colleague Brad Slager aptly put it: "Emotionally rushing hit pieces out eclipses the use of pragmatic thought."
Obviously.
Like Hegseth, Patel not only laughs in their faces, it's a clear indicator that he's doing his job.
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. And no amount of BS you write will ever deter this FBI from making America…
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) April 18, 2026
Editor’s Note: The American people overwhelmingly support President Trump’s law and order agenda.
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