FBI Denies Leak Probe Into Atlantic Reporter as Magazine Drops Fresh Exposé on ‘Ka$h’ Patel-Labeled Whiskey Bottles

The FBI director, Kash Patel, and the Atlantic magazine have traded salvos, with the FBI reportedly launching a criminal leak investigation into reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick while the magazine released its second scorched-earth exposé of the 46-year-old. On Wednesday, MSNOW reported that the FBI launched an “insider threat” investigation to examine possible unauthorized leaks to Ms. Fitzpatrick, whose explosive April 19 article, “The FBI Director is MIA,” reported unflattering details about Mr. Patel’s alleged drinking problems and erratic job performance. Mr. Patel later filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against both Ms. Fitzpatrick and the Atlantic, a publication that has never shied away from fierce criticism of President Trump and his Cabinet members. However an FBI spokesman, Ben Williamson, emphatically denied MSNOW’s report, adding that “the reporter is not being investigated.”“Every time there’s a publication of false claims by anonymous sources that gets called out, the media plays the victim via investigations that do not exist,” Mr. Williamson said on X.Moments later, Ms. Fitzpatrick released her latest unflattering report on Mr. Patel — this time about his collection of personalized bottles of Woodford Reserve whiskey that twice feature his name, spelled “Ka$h Patel,” and his job title.Ms. Fitzpatrick reportedly purchased one such bottle on an unspecified online auction site from a seller who told the reporter he had received it as a gift from Mr. Patel at an event in Las Vegas. Mr. Patel reportedly transported cases of whiskey on a government-owned private plane to Italy and even left a bottle in the United States men’s hockey team’s locker room, where he would later be seen on camera pounding a celebratory beer with players following their gold-medal victory. On X Wednesday, Mr. Williamson called the Atlantic’s story “dumb” and included a picture of a bottle of Van Brunt Whiskey featuring FBI branding that was “gifted by an FBI division in 2023.”“Personalized gifts like this are commonplace across government, including the FBI,” Mr. Williamson added.Indeed, several former agents tell the Sun that it was not uncommon for special agents in charge or assistant directors to give their squads personalized bottles of whiskey featuring the FBI seal and motto. However, Mr. Patel is likely the first FBI director to feature a wizard’s cap and use a dollar sign when spelling out his name, twice, on a whiskey bottle.Mr. Patel reportedly brought a case of the whiskey to a first-of-its-kind training seminar at Quantico that paired FBI special agent trainees with UFC mixed martial artists for takedown drills, among other things. Ms. Fitzpatrick reported that Mr. Patel became untethered upon discovering one of his whiskey bottles had gone missing and “began threatening to polygraph and prosecute his staff over the missing bottle.”In a statement to the Atlantic, an FBI spokesman said Mr. Patel had followed all ethical guidelines and “pays for any personal gift himself.”It was a stunning move by Ms. Fitzpatrick, already facing a $250 million defamation lawsuit, to release yet another unflattering exposé of Mr. Patel while citing several unnamed sources. Mr. Patel has a long history of taking legal action against the media with limited success. Since 2019, he has sued Politico, CNN, and the New York Times — cases he either withdrew or had dismissed. In April, a federal judge dismissed a defamation lawsuit filed last year by Mr. Patel against a retired FBI agent and former MSNBC contributor, Frank Figliuzzi, who claimed that the 45-year-old was “far more” visible at Las Vegas nightclubs than at FBI headquarters. Also last month, the New York Times reported that the FBI had launched an investigation into one of its reporters, Elizabeth Williamson, after a February 28 article of hers claimed Mr. Patel had assigned members of an FBI SWAT team to provide security and transportation for his girlfriend, country singer Alexis Wilkins.In a statement, the Atlantic magazine editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg said his publication “will not be intimidated by illegitimate investigation or other acts of politically motivated retaliation.”“We will continue to cover the FBI professionally, fairly, and thoroughly,” he added.

FBI Denies Leak Probe Into Atlantic Reporter as Magazine Drops Fresh Exposé on ‘Ka$h’ Patel-Labeled Whiskey Bottles

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