FBI Director Kash Patel has grown ‘deeply paranoid’ over being fired and has been drinking heavily, raising concerns among officials in Washington.
The Atlantic magazine published a report Friday revealing a series of troubling incidents and allegations involving Patel, who has since threatened legal action, calling the claims ‘false reporting.’
It details claims that Patel’s alleged excessive drinking meant that members of his security team were unable to rouse him in time for meetings on several occasions.
At one point, staffers allegedly requested ‘breaching equipment’ used in SWAT raids to try and break down his door, according to the Atlantic.
Patel is known to enjoy alcohol and has frequently appeared visibly intoxicated at clubs in Washington and in his home city of Las Vegas.
He reportedly also earned the president’s ire after he was filmed chugging beer with the US men’s hockey team following their Olympic victory.
But colleagues reportedly say his conduct has become erratic amid an increased paranoia he is set to be replaced.
Just last week, Patel allegedly spiraled into a nervous breakdown after mistakenly believing he had been fired due to a technical issue that left him locked out of a system.
The Atlantic magazine published a report Friday alleging that officials are alarmed over FBI Director Kash Patel’s alleged excessive drinking
The report claims that Patel has grown ‘deeply paranoid’ over being fired by the Trump administration
Fearing he was about to be fired by the Trump administration, he allegedly called aides and allies in panic – a reaction that, according to the Atlantic’s report, quickly reached the White House.
Officials told the outlet they are increasingly alarmed about whether the FBI could respond to a national crisis like a terror attack with Patel at the helm.
‘That’s what keeps me up at night,’ an unnamed official told the publication.
Patel has staunchly denied the Atlantic’s claims and threatened to sue the outlet and its reporter, Sarah Fitzpatrick.
In a post on X, Patel shared a screenshot of an email from FBI communications official Benjamin Williamson to Fitzpatrick, which described the article as ‘completely false and nearly 100 percent clip.’
The email read: ‘Top to bottom, this is one of the most absurd things I’ve ever read. Completely false and nearly 100% clip. And with a two hour deadline.’
‘See you and your entire entourage of false reporting in court,’ Patel captioned his Friday post.
‘But do keep at it with the fake news, actual malice standard is now what some would call a legal lay up,’ he added.
Patel threatened legal action against the publication and its reporter, Sarah Fitzpatrick
The Atlantic’s report alleges that, early in his tenure leading the bureau, meetings were sometimes rescheduled later in the day to accommodate what it describes as Patel’s alleged ‘nighttime drinking’ habits.
Drinking to the ‘obvious point of intoxication,’ as alleged in the report, violates FBI conduct rules and leaves the nation’s top law enforcement official vulnerable to the possible risk of coercion or exploitation.
Both FBI officials and members of the Trump administration have raised concerns about whether alcohol may have played a role in alleged missteps by Patel, pointing to the aftermath of the shooting of Charlie Kirk.
Hours after the killing of the conservative activist in September 2025, Patel took to X to announce that the ‘subject’ in Kirk’s murder was finally ‘in custody.’
But shortly after, he walked back his earlier statement, announcing that the suspect ‘has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement.’ A different suspect, Tyler Robinson, was later arrested.
Two sources with knowledge of his movements revealed that he was actually in New York City that evening, dining at Rao’s – the high-end Italian hotspot that opens at 7pm promptly, as reported by NBC News.
President Donald Trump, who is sober and has publicly spoken about his brother’s death from alcohol-related issues, has also slammed Patel’s drinking.
Patel, a longtime hockey fan, made headlines after he was seen drinking beer with players following Team USA’s gold-medal win over Canada at the Winter Olympics, where the men’s team secured its first title since 1980.
In the footage, he was seen enthusiastically drinking beer and shouting as he celebrated alongside the players.
But according to a person familiar with the matter, Trump told Patel he was unhappy with the locker room festivities and also raised concerns about Patel’s use of a government aircraft for a trip to Milan, according to NBC News.
In response to the bombshell claims, Patel’s advisor Erica Knight released a pointed statement on X, calling it a story ‘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,’ Knight wrote.
‘The so-called “intoxication incidents” The Atlantic breathlessly reports have happened exactly ZERO times,’ she added.
She went on to list statistics she said were achieved under Patel’s tenure, including 67,000 arrests nationwide and ‘2,200+ kilos of fentanyl seized – enough to kill 178 million Americans.’
‘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,’ she wrote.
‘Every serious DC reporter passed on this. Sarah Fitzpatrick and Jeffrey Goldberg printed it anyway,’ she added. ‘Lawsuit is being filed.’
Jesse Binnall, Patel’s attorney, also posted on X, slamming the report as ‘categorically false and defamatory’ and adding, ‘See you in court.’
He shared three photos of a letter he said he said he sent to The Atlantic and Sarah Fitzpatrick before the story was published, which he referred to as a ‘hit piece.’
‘The email contains 19 substantive claims about Director Patel, most of which are false, unsourced and facially defamatory per se,’ the letter read.
