Kash Patel’s lawsuit against the Atlantic has already backfired, big time.

Had the FBI director just put out a statement denouncing the magazine’s piece on him, the controversy would have vanished in two days.

But by filing the $250-million suit against what he calls a “defamatory hit piece,” he turned it into a top story on cable news, especially MS NOW, with constant coverage all day Monday, most of it unfavorable.

In other words, Patel shined a white-hot spotlight on accusations of excessive drinking and disappearances to a vastly larger audience than would have heard about them.  

FBI DIRECTOR KASH PATEL FILES $250 MILLION LAWSUIT AGAINST THE ATLANTIC OVER ‘DEFAMATORY HIT PIECE’

“We will vigorously defend the Atlantic and our journalists against this meritless lawsuit,” a magazine spokeswoman said.

While Patel is free to sue anyone he wants, there are two main reasons this is a seriously bad idea.

As a public figure, he would have to prove that the Atlantic acted with malice – that is, either knowingly publishing something false, or showing reckless disregard for whether or not it’s true. The Atlantic is a liberal magazine, but has serious reporting chops.

KASH PATEL DOUBLES DOWN ON LAWSUIT AGAINST THE ATLANTIC, SLAMS OUTLET AS ‘FAKE NEWS MAFIA’

Beyond that, Patel would open himself up to discovery, meaning the defendants could have access to all kinds of emails, texts and documents, some of which surely be unflattering. He could be deposed under oath. He would have the same rights.

The malice question for public figures has been the legal standard since a 1964 Supreme Court ruling. Now I suppose this conservative court could overturn that. But I don’t think this lawsuit will even make it to trial.

The Atlantic reporter, Sarah Fitzpatrick, pointed to “more than two dozen people I interviewed about Patel’s conduct, including current and former FBI officials, staff at law-enforcement and intelligence agencies, hospitality-industry workers, members of Congress, political operatives, lobbyists, and former advisers,” all on an anonymous basis.

Patel’s suit says that despite his denials, he was given just two hours to respond to the magazine’s list of questions.

He provided a statement, which the article included, and the denials were repeated by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who said “Director Patel remains a critical player on the administration’s law and order team.”

In the article, Patel is described as having a “freak-out” when he couldn’t sign on to the internal computer system, telling staff members he had been fired. It turned out to be a glitch.

FBI DIRECTOR KASH PATEL VOWS TO TAKE THE ATLANTIC TO COURT OVER ‘DEFAMATORY’ REPORT

Among the allegations in the Fitzpatrick piece:

“Several officials told me that Patel’s drinking has been a recurring source of concern across the government. They said that he is known to drink to the point of obvious intoxication…Early in his tenure, meetings and briefings had to be rescheduled for later in the day as a result of his alcohol-fueled nights, six current and former officials and others familiar with Patel’s schedule told me.

“On multiple occasions in the past year, members of his security detail had difficulty waking Patel because he was seemingly intoxicated, according to information supplied to Justice Department and White House officials.” 

The Atlantic described Patel’s drinking as “no secret. While on official travel to Italy in February, he was filmed chugging beer with the U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team following their gold-medal victory. The incident prompted the president—who does not drink and whose brother died following a long struggle with alcoholism—to call the FBI director to convey his unhappiness, according to two officials familiar with the call.” 

What’s more, the piece says, “Patel has led a purge of people who he believes are anti-Trump ‘conspirators’ or ‘enemies’ within the FBI. This has included firing people, opening internal investigations, and pressuring agents to quit when they pushed back—or were perceived to have pushed back—against Patel’s demands or questioned their legality.”

Patel, a onetime congressional aide, is a lawyer and ontime public defender who held various posts during Trump’s first term, and in 2022 became a director of the Trump Media & Technology Group.

In his lawsuit, the FBI chief said the article is “replete with false and obviously fabricated allegations designed to destroy Director Patel’s reputation and drive him from office…Director Patel does not drink to excess.”

HOW DONALD TRUMP TRIED TO COURT THE ATLANTIC – AND WHY THE LIBERAL MAGAZINE LANDED AN INTERVIEW

Under Editor Jeffrey Goldberg, the Atlantic won its first Pulitzer Prize and three straight National Magazine Awards for general excellence. Adweek named him Editor of the Year and last year he won the John Chancellor Award for Excellence in Journalism.

It was Goldberg, you’ll recall, who was accidentally copied on a Signal chat in which War Secretary Pete Hegseth shared classified war information. But he cooperated with the administration on what could fairly be published.

Although Trump attacked Goldberg last year as a “sleazebag,” he later invited him and two reporters to an Oval Office interview.

The president, who was trying to get a favorable cover story, had posted that he was meeting with Goldberg “of all people.”

“It was “my way of explaining to people that you’re up here, because most people would say, ‘Why are you doing that?’ I’m doing that because there is a certain respect,” he told Goldberg.

The president, of course, has sued numerous news organizations, winning settlements of at least $16 million apiece from CBS and ABC.

In that vein, Patel’s lawsuit may not necessarily be about winning.

The FBI director may simply be going to court as a way of forcing the magazine to hire lawyers and as part of the Trump campaign to intimidate the media and perhaps soften or sink highly critical stories. (And yet the president talks to journalists virtually every day, increasingly takes their calls, and is going to his first White House Correspondents Dinner.) 

SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE’S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF ON THE DAY’S HOTTEST STORIES

The Atlantic is owned by a company founded by Laurene Powell Jobs, Steve Jobs’ widow, who is the lead investor and chair of the magazine. She has spent about $5 billion, roughly half her inherited fortune, on such matters as environmental and social justice causes. Deep pockets don’t seem to be a problem.

Kash Patel has broadcast serious questions about his conduct, even as he denies them, by going the lawsuit route. All he’s accomplished so far is putting the allegations on a huge national stage. 

The U.S. military is launching a new autonomous warfare command to deploy cutting-edge unmanned systems across Latin America, marking a first-of-its-kind move by a combatant command.

U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) commander Gen. Francis Donovan said Tuesday he ordered the creation of the SOUTHCOM Autonomous Warfare Command to support national security priorities and regional efforts.

“From the seafloor to space and across the cyber domain, we fully intend to leverage the clear superiority of the American defense ecosystem by deploying cutting-edge innovation and working ever closer with our enduring partners in the region to outmatch those who threaten our collective peace and security,” Donovan said in a statement.

According to SOUTHCOM, the new command will employ “autonomous, semi-autonomous, and unmanned platforms and systems to counter threats and challenges across domains, linking tactical missions to long-term strategic effects.”

US MARINE CORPS CREATES ATTACK DRONE TEAM AS ARMS RACE WITH RUSSIA, CHINA HEATS UP

SAWC will also work with U.S. allies in the region and advance missions including targeting narcoterrorist and cartel networks and responding to large-scale natural disasters.

Donovan said the region is well-suited for innovation and collaboration with partners.

“Our geographic area of responsibility has a wide range of conditions, varied terrain, and diverse operational environments that make it an ideal setting in which to innovate. It is also a region with very capable and committed security partners who lean forward, embrace technologies and are very eager to work collaboratively with us to support regional stability in new and effective ways,” he said.

US MILITARY BUILDUP IN CARIBBEAN SEES BOMBERS, MARINES AND WARSHIPS CONVERGE NEAR VENEZUELA

SOUTHCOM is responsible for military operations in Central and South America and the Caribbean, including counter-narcotics missions aimed at disrupting drug trafficking networks that threaten U.S. interests.

The U.S. military has carried out dozens of strikes in recent months on suspected drug-smuggling vessels as part of a broader campaign to dismantle cartel-linked trafficking operations.

In a written posture statement to Congress earlier this year, Donovan said he aimed to leverage emerging technologies, telling lawmakers he intended “to capitalize on next generation capabilities like unmanned platforms, AI integration, and commercial tools to better enable us and our partners to counter … threats together.”

In March, Donovan told an Armed Services Committee member he aimed to build cost-effective, modernized forces for SOUTHCOM’s mission, including autonomous systems and human-machine teaming, “to greatly increase lethality, all-domain awareness, and data sharing for U.S. and partner forces.”

SOUTHCOM said it will work with the military services and the War Department’s Defense Autonomous Warfare Group (DAWG) to identify capabilities needed for the new command to begin operations and integrate into its mission.

Federal immigration officials issued a detainer for a Mexican national accused of sexually assaulting a minor in South Carolina after the victim was found giving birth in a hospital parking lot.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged a detainer for Luis Armando Argueta Montejo, who is accused of having sexual intercourse with a female minor believed to be between the ages of 11 and 14.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Montejo was arrested days after the minor was found giving birth in the parking lot of Oconee Memorial Hospital in South Carolina.

Evidence collected by the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office indicated that Montejo had sexual intercourse with the victim, according to DHS.

MIGRANT CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN PILE UP IN BOSTON AREA AS MAYOR SLAMS BONDI OVER ‘SANCTUARY’ WARNING

The 43-year-old was charged with incest and three counts of criminal sexual conduct with a child, DHS said.

“This sicko should NEVER have been in our country to prey on children in the first place,” Acting Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement. “He now faces charges for incest and multiple child sex crimes.”

Montejo told ICE he first entered the U.S. in 2006 and does not have a prior criminal record, according to officials.

PREVIOUSLY DEPORTED BRAZILIAN WOMAN CHARGED WITH SEX CRIMES AGAINST MASSACHUSETTS CHILD

ICE lodged a detainer on April 17 to ensure he is transferred to federal custody after local proceedings conclude.

“Prior to these horrific crimes, this illegal alien lacked a criminal record in the U.S.,” Bis said. “Under Secretary Mullin, ICE lodged an arrest detainer with South Carolina to ensure this monster is never loose in our communities again.”

Bis said the case underscores the need for coordination between federal and local authorities.

“Thankfully, South Carolina cooperates with ICE law enforcement,” Bis added. “This is why we need cooperation from state and local partners, so together we can keep criminals off our streets and make America safe again.”