The Atlantic's Sarah Fitzpatrick revealed that she has been "inundated" with new sources since publishing her bombshell report on FBI Director Kash Patel, which accused him of "excessive drinking and unexplained absences."
Additional Corroboration from High-Level Sources
"I think one of the things that has been most gratifying after, immediately after the story published, was I have been inundated by additional sourcing going up to the highest levels of the government, thanking us for doing the work, providing additional corroborating information," the writer said on the "Radio Atlantic" podcast Wednesday.
Fear of Retaliation
Fitzpatrick said that Patel is "known to be extremely, extremely vindictive," which could be why more concerns about his behavior haven't surfaced publicly. "I think there is a real fear at every level — not just of the FBI, of the Justice Department, people who work in the White House — that this is a person who is going to come after [you]. If you speak out, if you are perceived as not being 120% behind this FBI director or behind the president, there is a concern that you are going to lose your job," Fitzpatrick said.
Lawsuit and Allegations
FBI Director Kash Patel is suing The Atlantic over a report alleging that he drank excessively on the job. Allegations about Patel come amid a series of high-profile Trump administration departures. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-Deremer stepped down just this week after being investigated for misconduct, and former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and former Attorney General Pam Bondi were also recently ousted.
Speaking out against Patel could mean "you are going to be bankrupted and your family is going to be bankrupted with litigation," Fitzpatrick said. "And we have seen him, we have seen him personally go after people that he perceives as being problematic."
The journalist is now facing a $250 million lawsuit from Patel claiming her report contained "false and obviously fabricated allegations designed to destroy Director Patel's reputation and drive him from office."
Details of the Report
The Atlantic report alleged that on multiple occasions throughout the past year, Patel's security struggled to wake him up due to his being "seemingly intoxicated," and that "alcohol-fueled nights" caused his meetings to be rescheduled. "It was known throughout the FBI, known to members of the Justice Department, and known to members of the White House that his security detail had trouble reaching him behind closed doors," Fitzpatrick told podcast host Hanna Rosin. "And that's what I think, really, was causing alarm throughout the security establishment."
The Atlantic doubled down on its reporting in a statement Monday, calling Patel's lawsuit "meritless."
"I spoke to dozens of people: everyone from current and former FBI officials, Justice Department officials, people close to the White House, people who are involved in intelligence agencies, people who are lawyers, lobbyists, hospitality workers," Fitzpatrick continued. "It was people that had seen it with kind of a 360-degree view and had seen it over an extended period of time."
