The FBI has launched a criminal leak investigation into the Atlantic reporter who reported on Kash Patel’s excessive drinking and unexplained absences.
The FBI’s probe is focused on journalist Sarah Fitzpatrick, who reported last month that Patel was known to drink in excess, routinely delayed meetings and time-sensitive operations, and was often unreachable, two people familiar with the matter told MS NOW Wednesday.
The probe is different from a typical leak investigation because it did not stem from a leak of classified information, and instead focuses on leaks to a reporter, the sources said.
“They know they are not supposed to do this,” one source told MS NOW. “But if they don’t go forward, they could lose their jobs. You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t.”
After The Atlantic published the story, Patel filed a $250 million defamation suit against the publication, claiming the article was “replete with false and obviously fabricated allegations designed to destroy Director Patel’s reputation and drive him from office.”
But if the claims are all false, then why investigate a leak?
This wouldn’t be the first time that Patel undermined his own lawsuit. Last month, Patel flatly denied something asserted in his own court filings. And Patel’s ongoing temper tantrum over the report has apparently only invited more government officials to reach out to Fitzpatrick.
FBI spokesperson Ben Williamson denied the bureau was investigating Fitzpatrick. “This is completely false. No such investigation like this exists and the reporter you mention is not being investigated at all,” he told MS NOW.
“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,” he added.
The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg gave a statement to MS NOW: “We will have further comment when we learn more. If true, this would be an outrageous, illegal, and dangerous attack on the free press and the First Amendment. We will defend Sarah and all of our reporters who are subjected to government harassment simply for pursuing the truth.”
