FBI Director Kash Patel has said he will sue The Atlantic magazine over their latest hit piece.
During an interview with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday morning, Patel was asked about the recent article that claimed that he has ”alarmed colleagues with episodes of excessive drinking and unexplained absences.”
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
Here is a transcript of the exchange:
PATEL: Maria, I’m happy to announce on your show that we’re not going to take this laying down. You want to attack my character? Come at me. Bring it on. I’ll see you in court.”
BARTIROMO: So you’re going to sue them?”
PATEL: Absolutely, it’s coming tomorrow.”
BARTIROMO: Tomorrow, you will be dropping a lawsuit against The Atlantic magazine?”
PATEL: Yes I will, for defamation Because you know what, Maria? We have to fight back against the fake news. Its one of the many things President Trump is so successful at and leading out on.
I won’t tolerate their attacks on me because they are indirect attacks on the men and women of the FBI that we have cleaned up.
If the fake news mafia wants to, you know, ring their drum beat as loud as they can, they’re never going to stop me from completing the mission that President Trump asked me to do, which is safeguarding America. And we are doing it better than ever before.
Watch the clip below:
NEW: FBI Director Kash Patel tells Maria Bartiromo that he is suing The Atlantic for defamation.
“You want to attack my character? Come at me, bring it on. I’ll see you in court.” pic.twitter.com/I6rBlwh5Kr
— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 19, 2026
In the same interview, Patel also said that “arrests are coming” against those who tried to stage a “de facto coup” against President Trump.
”They not only have personally attacked the presidency of the United States and President Trump, but they tried to thwart our elections and rig the entire system,” he said.
“We’ve got all the evidence. I can announce on your show that we’ve got all the information we need,” he continued.
“We’re working with our prosecutors at the Department of Justice and their Attorney General, Todd Blanche, and we are going to be making arrests, and it’s coming, and I promise you, it’s coming soon.”
Ben Kew is a writer and editor. Originally from the UK, he moved to the U.S. to cover Congress for Breitbart News and has since gone on to editorial roles at Human Events, Townhall Media, and Americano Media. He has also written for The Epoch Times, The Western Journal, and The Spectator.
You can email Ben Kew here, and read more of Ben Kew’s articles here.
Ad block users: Some site features may not work correctly while an ad blocker is enabled, because they break scripts and content this website depends on. If you can’t see comments below, for example, please disable your ad blocker.
