Kash Patel Lawsuit: The Atlantic, Figliuzzi, and Earlier Suits

Kash Patel’s lawsuits are almost entirely defamation cases he has brought against news outlets and commentators. He has filed at least six over nearly seven years, and as of mid-2026 none has produced a settlement or a favorable jury verdict; his only monetary win is a $250,000 default judgment against a blogger who never responded to the case.¹ The largest, a $250 million suit against The Atlantic, is pending in federal court in Washington, D.C.

The $250 Million Suit Against The Atlantic

On April 20, 2026, Patel filed a 19-page defamation complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the Atlantic Monthly Group and reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick. He is seeking $250 million in damages plus disgorgement of profits.²

The suit targets an April 17, 2026 article titled “The FBI Director Is MIA.” Drawing on dozens of anonymous sources described as current and former FBI and Justice Department officials, lobbyists, and hospitality workers, the story alleged that Patel “often drinks to excess,” is “known to drink to the point of obvious intoxication,” and has an “irregular presence at FBI headquarters and in field offices” that had delayed “time-sensitive decisions.”³ The article included an anecdote in which agents reportedly needed “breaching equipment” to enter a room where Patel was unresponsive, and named a Las Vegas nightclub, the Poodle Room, as a place he was frequently seen visibly intoxicated.⁴

The complaint identifies 17 statements as “false and defamatory statements of fact,” calling them “so demonstrably and obviously false, or easily refuted, that it was at best reckless to publish them.”³ Patel’s team also argued that The Atlantic gave him only about two hours to respond to a detailed list of questions and ignored a pre-publication letter from his lawyers warning that the claims were “categorically false and defamatory.”⁵

Before publication, Patel told The Atlantic: “Print it, all false, I’ll see you in court — bring your checkbook.”⁴ At an April 21, 2026 press conference, he called the report “fake news” and said he had “never been intoxicated on the job.”⁶

Patel is represented by Jesse Binnall of the Binnall Law Group.⁷⁶⁸ Fitzpatrick said in an April 23, 2026 interview that she stood by the reporting and that additional sources had come forward since publication.⁴

The case (1:26-cv-01329) is pending before Judge Emmet G. Sullivan. After an extension granted on May 29, 2026, the defendants have until July 27, 2026 to respond to the complaint.⁹

Why the Atlantic Case Is a Steep Climb

As the sitting FBI Director, Patel is a public official under the Supreme Court’s 1964 decision in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan. To win, he has to prove “actual malice” — that The Atlantic published knowing the claims were false or with reckless disregard for the truth. Legal commentators have described this as a very high bar.¹⁰

Patel’s complaint argues The Atlantic met that standard by publishing despite his pre-publication denial, despite what the suit calls “publicly available counter-evidence,” and despite relying on sources with political animus. But courts have repeatedly held that a subject’s denial before publication does not by itself establish actual malice, and that reliance on anonymous sources does not prove recklessness.¹⁰

A significant procedural question is whether the D.C. federal court will order The Atlantic to identify its anonymous sources during discovery. The District of Columbia recognizes a “qualified” reporter’s privilege, meaning a court could compel disclosure if it finds the information essential to determining whether the magazine acted with actual malice.¹⁰

The Figliuzzi Case, Dismissed and on Appeal

In mid-2025, Patel sued Frank Figliuzzi, a former FBI assistant director for counterintelligence and MSNBC contributor, in federal court in Houston. The suit stemmed from a May 2, 2025 “Morning Joe” appearance in which Figliuzzi quipped that Patel had “been visible at nightclubs far more than he has been on the seventh floor of the Hoover Building.” Patel’s lawyers argued Figliuzzi had “crossed the legal line by fabricating a specific lie,” asserting Patel had not spent “a single minute inside of a nightclub” since becoming director.¹¹¹²

On April 21, 2026, U.S. District Judge George Hanks Jr. dismissed the case. He ruled that Figliuzzi’s remark was “rhetorical hyperbole” delivered in an “exaggerated, provocative and amusing way” and that a “person of reasonable intelligence and learning would not have taken his statement literally.”¹³ Patel appealed to the Fifth Circuit on June 11, 2026.¹²

Earlier Suits Against Politico, the Times, CNN, and a Blogger

Patel’s litigation history stretches back to his time as a White House aide in the first Trump administration.¹

Politico (2019)

Patel sued Politico, reporter Natasha Bertrand, and owner Robert Allbritton for more than $25 million, alleging a story about his role in President Trump’s dealings with Ukraine falsely accused him of “lying, deceit and unethical conduct.” Politico called the suit “high on bombast and low on merit.” The original case was dismissed after Patel failed to serve the company for over a year. He later filed a new suit against Politico, which remains active.¹⁴¹⁵

The New York Times (2019)

Patel sought roughly $45 million in damages over similar Ukraine-related coverage. The case was dropped after he failed to serve court papers on the Times.¹⁵

CNN (circa 2020)

Patel sued CNN over two 2020 articles he said falsely portrayed him as a “Trump loyalist” connected to efforts to spread conspiracy theories about Joe Biden. In January 2025, a Virginia appeals court affirmed the dismissal, ruling that Patel failed to meet the “exacting constitutional standards” needed to prove actual malice by a public official.¹⁶

Jim Stewartson (2023)

Patel and the Kash Foundation sued blogger Jim Stewartson in federal court in Las Vegas over social media posts calling Patel a “Kremlin asset” and accusing him of planning the January 6 Capitol attack. Patel initially sought $10 million. Stewartson never responded, and in August 2025 Judge Andrew Gordon entered a default judgment of $250,000 — $200,000 to Patel and $50,000 to the foundation. Stewartson claimed he was never properly served and called the case “preposterous.”¹⁷

The Track Record So Far

Across roughly seven years of litigation, the Stewartson default judgment is the only monetary award Patel has secured. Two of the 2019 cases were effectively abandoned through failure to serve defendants, the CNN suit was dismissed and lost on appeal, the Figliuzzi case was dismissed as rhetorical hyperbole and is now on appeal, and the Atlantic and refiled Politico cases remain active.¹⁵¹

1
The New York Times. Kash Patel Defamation Lawsuits
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Politico. Kash Patel Defamation Lawsuit The Atlantic
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CBS News. Kash Patel Lawsuit Against The Atlantic
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The New Yorker. Kash Patel’s Implausible Lawsuit Against The Atlantic
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BBC News. Kash Patel Sues The Atlantic
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ABC News. Patel Responds to Atlantic Report
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NBC News. Kash Patel Lawsuit Atlantic Allegations
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Davis Wright Tremaine. Katherine M. Bolger
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CourtListener. Patel v. Atlantic Monthly Group LLC
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Freedom Forum. Kash Patel Defamation Lawsuit
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NBC News. Judge Tosses Kash Patel’s Defamation Suit Against Former MSNBC Contributor
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CNBC. FBI Patel Appeal Defamation Lawsuit Frank Figliuzzi
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The Hill. Kash Patel Defamation Lawsuit Dismissed
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The Hill. White House Official Sues Politico
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The Philadelphia Inquirer. Kash Patel FBI Director Sue Media Companies
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Bloomberg Law. Patel CNN Defamation Lawsuit Fails to Advance After Appeal
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CNBC. FBI Kash Patel Lawsuit Stewartson