The FBI’s revenge on a journalist who published a critical article

The FBI has opened an unusual criminal investigation regarding a critical article published by a journalist of the “Atlantic” magazine about the bad working habits of the head of the FBI Kash Patel, MS NOW reported. This is an unusual investigation since it was not opened following the leak of classified information, but embarrassing information about the head of the organization.

The Atlantic’s Sarah Fitzpatrick relied on more than 20 anonymous sources in a detailed report claiming that Patel’s alcohol consumption and unpredictable behavior caused deep concern among senior FBI officials. According to the report, Patel was known to drink to the point of drunkenness, sometimes his security men had trouble waking him up in the morning, and sources in the article defined his tenure as an administrative failure and a risk to state security.

Patel was quick to sue the magazine after the publication of the article for 250 million dollars, claiming that the article contains lies and constitutes defamation. The magazine and Fitzpatrick stood behind the report and said that after publication they received additional confirmations of the information. The FBI spokesman denied the existence of the investigation and said it was a “total lie”. The magazine said that if the report is true, “it is a scandalous, illegal and dangerous attack on the freedom of the press.”

It seems that the FBI’s investigation and Patel’s prosecution did not deter Fitzpatrick, who yesterday published another critical article about the conduct of the head of the organization. According to the article, Patel usually carries around an inventory of whiskey bottles personally branded with his name, title and the FBI logo. The magazine even purchased such a bottle from a man who said he got it for free from Patel at an event in Las Vegas.

It was also reported that Patel distributed bottles of his branded whiskey during official FBI activities, and both agency employees and civilians received bottles from him. The organization did not deny that Patel was handing out bottles of whiskey with his name on it, but argued in response that this is a common practice within the FBI and the government in general.

However, the magazine reported that his conduct was unprecedented. In one instance, Patel and his team brought at least one case of whiskey to the FBI training facility, and at one point one bottle went missing. This caused Patel to “lose it”, and he threatened his men with a polygraph test.