2026年4月20日 / 美国东部时间上午11:06 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
华盛顿讯——联邦调查局局长卡什·帕特尔周一对《大西洋月刊》提起诽谤诉讼，称该杂志近期一篇关于他被指频繁饮酒和缺勤的报道包含“虚假且明显捏造”的内容。
这份在哥伦比亚特区地区法院提交的长达19页的诉讼请求索赔2.5亿美元 damages。撰写该报道的记者莎拉·菲茨帕特里克也被列为被告。
帕特尔和联邦调查局已多次否认报道中的相关指控，其中包括帕特尔经常酗酒的说法。这篇援引多名匿名现任和前任官员的报道还称，帕特尔“在联邦调查局总部和外勤办公室的出勤不规律”，延误了“需要联邦调查局局长参与的时效性决策”。
诉讼列出了该报道中帕特尔法律团队指称的17项“虚假且诽谤性的事实陈述”，其中包括他“众所周知会饮酒到明显醉酒的程度”。
诉讼称：“上述每一项陈述和暗示均为虚假。它们如此明显、极易被证伪，以至于发布这些内容即便不是蓄意为之，也至少是轻率鲁莽的。”
《大西洋月刊》在X平台发布的一份声明中表示：“我们坚持对卡什·帕特尔的报道，并将积极为《大西洋月刊》和我们的记者辩护，应对这场毫无根据的诉讼。”
哥伦比亚广播公司新闻已联系帕特尔的律师杰西·宾纳尔寻求进一步置评。
这是帕特尔第二次针对涉及他饮酒和派对传闻的媒体报道提起诉讼。
去年，他起诉了微软全国广播公司（MSNBC）分析师、前联邦调查局特工弗兰克·菲格利齐，原因是后者声称帕特尔在夜总会的时间比在联邦调查局总部的时间还多。这起在德克萨斯州南区美国地区法院提起的案件目前仍在审理中。
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/fbi-director-kash-patel-sues-the-atlantic-report-alleged-drinking-absences/
FBI Director Kash Patel sues The Atlantic for $250 million over story on alleged drinking, absences
April 20, 2026 / 11:06 AM EDT / CBS News
Washington— FBI Director Kash Patel filed a defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic magazine on Monday, saying a recent story about his alleged frequent drinking and absences included “false and obviously fabricated” claims.
The 19-page lawsuit, filed in the District of Columbia, is seeking $250 million in damages. Sarah Fitzpatrick, the reporter who wrote the story, is also named as a defendant.
Patel and the FBI have repeatedly denied allegations in the story, which included allegations that Patel often drinks to excess. The piece, which cited multiple unnamed current and former officials, also said that Patel’s “irregular presence at FBI headquarters and in field offices” has delayed “time-sensitive decisions” that require the FBI director’s input.
The lawsuit listed 17 allegations in the article that Patel’s legal team alleges were “false and defamatory statements of fact,” including that he “is known to drink to the point of obvious intoxication.”
“Each of the foregoing statements and implications is false. They are so demonstrably and obviously false, or easily refuted, that it was at best reckless to publish them,” the suit said.
In a statement posted on X, The Atlantic said, “We stand by our reporting on Kash Patel, and we will vigorously defend The Atlantic and our journalists from this meritless lawsuit.”
CBS News has reached out to Patel’s lawyer, Jesse Binnall, for additional comment.
This is the second lawsuit that Patel has filed in connection with media reports about allegations of his drinking and partying.
Last year, he sued Frank Figliuzzi, an MSNBC analyst and former FBI agent, over a claim suggesting Patel was spending more time in nightclubs than the FBI’s headquarters. That case, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, is still pending.
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/fbi-director-kash-patel-sues-the-atlantic-report-alleged-drinking-absences/
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