The nonprofit watchdog group Democracy Forward filed a Freedom of Information Act, or FIOA, request Tuesday demanding the FBI produce internal records within 20 days regarding allegations against FBI Director Kash Patel of excessive drinking and unexplained absences.
The Atlantic published a report last week citing FBI and Justice Department officials who claimed Patel's drinking alarmed colleagues, with reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick describing official's observations, "known to drink to the point of obvious intoxication."
Patel filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic and fiercely denied the allegations, according to CNN.
Democracy Forward's FOIA request seeks all electronic FBI communications containing terms including "alcohol," "asleep," "drunk," "hungover," and "passed out." Under FOIA law, the FBI is legally obligated to fulfill the request except for exemptions relating to national security or active law enforcement investigations.
The filing represents an effort to independently verify the magazine's reporting.
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