Kash Patel Threatens Legal Action After Bombshell Report About ‘Erratic’ Behavior: ‘See You and Your False Reporting in Court’
Kash Patel threatened legal action over The Atlantic’s bombshell report, in which it detailed the FBI director’s alleged “erratic” behavior throughout his tenure.
“See you and your entire entourage of false reporting in court,” Patel warned Friday evening in a message posted to X. “But do keep at it with the fake news, actual malice standard is now what some would call a legal lay up.”
Additionally, Patel shared a screenshot of an email sent from Benjamin Williamson, the assistant director for the FBI’s Office of Public Affairs, to The Atlantic journalist Sarah Fitzpatrick.
“Top to bottom, this is one of the most absurd things I’ve ever read,” Williamson’s email stated. “Completely false. At a nearly 100% clip. And with a two hour deadline.”
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
The sentiment echoed an earlier response from Patel sent to The Atlantic ahead of publishing on Friday, which stated: “Print it, all false, I’ll see you in court—bring your checkbook.”
Jesse R. Binnall, an attorney representing Patel, also shared the warning they sent off to Fitzpatrick and The Atlantic ahead of publishing, with the note also threatening legal action over, what they called, the “categorically false” and “defamatory assertions” about the FBI director.
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
However, Fitzpatrick stood by her reporting Friday evening during an appearance on Jen Psaki’s MS NOW show, “The Briefing.”
“I am a very careful, very diligent, award-winning investigative reporter with a history of award-winning work across multiple organizations,” Fitzpatrick said. “I stand by every word of this reporting. We have excellent attorneys.”
She added: “It is a surprising statement, but a very telling statement, I believe. And I would also note, we reached out for comment to the White House and to the Justice Department, neither of which disputed anything. We gave multiple opportunities, including 19 detailed questions. So we stand by every word.”
The statements followed the publishing of an Atlantic article, titled “The FBI Director Is MIA,” in which Patel is described as “erratic, suspicious of others, and prone to jumping to conclusions before he has necessary evidence,” per Fitzpatrick’s “two dozen” sources. The report also alleged that Patel’s “drinking has been a recurring source of concern across the government,” in addition to a number of “unexplained absences.”
You can read the full report here.
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