The director of the FBI has denied claims that colleagues are alarmed by his excessive drinking and unexplained absences.
Kash Patel threatened to sue The Atlantic magazine over a report published on Friday, which alleged that members of his security detail struggled to wake him because he was seemingly intoxicated multiple times over the past year, citing information supplied to Department of Justice and White House officials.
On one occasion, a request was made for “breaching equipment” — tools typically used by law enforcement to quickly force entry — because Patel couldn’t be reached behind locked doors, according to the magazine.
The FBI told the magazine the details in the report were “all false”, while Patel said: “Print it, all false, I’ll see you in court — bring your cheque book.”
Some of Patel’s drinking has been in the public eye. One video showed him drinking a beer, banging his fist on a table and celebrating with the US men’s hockey team at this year’s Winter Olympics in Italy.
After the video spread on social media, President Trump, who doesn’t drink alcohol, called Patel to convey his discontent, the magazine claimed.
The allegations, attributed to two dozen current and former officials, are among a growing list of incidents that have raised questions about Patel’s professionalism.
On multiple occasions, the FBI director shared inaccurate information about active investigations. Shortly after Charlie Kirk’s murder last September, he...
Congress leaders Harshwardhan Sapkal and Nana Patole, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) legislator Rohit Pawar, and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi said PM Modi's sp...