In a public records request filing submitted on Tuesday, the nonprofit watchdog group Democracy Forward gave the FBI 20 days to produce internal records as part of its investigation into FBI Director Kash Patel, who’s been accused of frequent bouts of “excessive drinking” and “unexplained absences.”
Last week, The Atlantic published a bombshell report that included allegations from FBI and Justice Department officials, allegations that Patel’s excessive drinking had “alarmed” his colleagues.
“Several officials told me that Patel’s drinking has been a recurring source of concern across the government,” wrote The Atlantic’s Sarah Fitzpatrick in the magazine’s report. “They said that he is known to drink to the point of obvious intoxication.”
Patel has since filed a $250 million lawsuit against the magazine for defamation, and has fiercely denied the allegations. With its public record request filed on Tuesday, however, Democracy Forward is looking to uncover the truth.
In its public record request, filed under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Democracy Forward asks for all electronic FBI communications that contain key terms, including “alcohol,” “asleep,” “Drunk,” “hungover,” “passed out” and more.
Under FOIA, the FBI is legally obligated to fulfill Democracy Forward’s request, outside of a few exemptions which exclude content that may relate to national security or active law enforcement investigations.
And .. here come the Freedom of Information Act requests for Kash Patel records
DC watchdog group Democracy Forward has formally requested Patel's calendars & any messages from security detail that include words "drinking", "hungover", "inebriated"https://t.co/cyKtVxXNOwpic.twitter.com/FY0TtZg3LA
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) April 21, 2026