FBI probing leaks behind Patel ‘excessive drinking’ article, report says
FBI spokesman denies ‘insider threat’ inquiry as Atlantic editor-in-chief issues as defiant statement
The FBI has opened a criminal leak investigation focusing on a journalist who wrote a critical article about Kash Patel, the head of the US law enforcement agency, the cable news channel MS Now reported on Wednesday.
Patel filed a US$250 million suit last month against The Atlantic magazine and the author of the article, Sarah Fitzpatrick, calling it a “sweeping, malicious, and defamatory hit piece”.
The Atlantic story accused Patel of frequently drinking to excess and said he was in danger of losing his job as FBI director.
MS Now, citing two people familiar with the matter, said the FBI has launched a so-called “insider threat investigation” into the Atlantic story, which cited two dozen anonymous sources.
The network said the investigation is highly unusual because leak probes are generally focused on government officials who leak information and not the journalists who publish it.
An FBI spokesman, Ben Williamson, denied to MS Now that an investigation was under way.