All posts tagged "kash patel"

Embarrassed Trump to fire gaffe-prone Cabinet member within days: White House insider

Donald Trump is preparing to fire a chief member of his Cabinet after a series of gaffes left the president embarrassed, a White House insider has claimed.

Trump recently dismissed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi in quick succession, marking a dramatic purge of Cabinet members.

FBI Director Kash Patel will be the next admin figure to be fired, according to the insider.

Susan Crabtree, a political correspondent for Real Clear Politics, shared a comment from the White House source on the possible removal of Patel, despite pressure also building for White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles following questions regarding security coming after Saturday's shooting attempt at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

The anonymous official has claimed that Patel's firing could come within days.

Crabtree wrote, "A source familiar with the presidential security protocols said White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles oversees the Secret Service and has let [Secret Service Director Sean Curran] remain in his job despite numerous failures on his watch. 'They’re about to fire Kash and he had nothing to do with this, while Susie oversees the Secret Service, and it’s failure after failure, and she gets no blame,' the source said."

The Atlantic's reporting cited multiple current and former FBI officials describing Patel's unexplained absences, panic episodes when locked out of the FBI computer system, and concerning behavior patterns that raised serious questions about his fitness for office.

'Who invited him?' C-SPAN host bewildered as embattled Kash Patel shows up at WHCD

A C-SPAN host was surprised to see FBI Director Kash Patel show up at the White House Correspondents' Dinner and wondered who could have possibly invited him.

"It looks like Kash Patel is in the ballroom. We do not know who invited him," C-SPAN host Peter Sein said. "You have to be a media organization and a member of the White House Correspondents' Association to have a table."

While "celebrities and administration officials" are usually invited by media organizations, Pash showed up as rumors swirl that he's the next on the White House chopping block and could be fired soon. Sein sounded perplexed to see the embattled Trump official dressed up and mingling like a normal guest.

HOST: Looks like Kash Patel is in the ballroom. Don’t know who invited him. pic.twitter.com/eel9uonjCJ
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 25, 2026

Trump DOJ's glaring 'gaffe' flagged by legal expert in case against hate group watchdog

The Department of Justice hurt its own case against the Southern Poverty Law Center with a poor choice of words, with a legal expert calling the indictment "particularly weak" on its face.

"What makes this all highly problematic is an apparent gaffe in the charging language," legal expert Andrew Weissmann wrote in a Saturday piece for Just Security.

Weissman pointed out that the indictment carelessly alleged the SPLC made "misleading" statements to defraud banks and set up accounts to fund racist groups like the KKK. The lack of specifics and relying on accusations of misleading statements "is insufficient to prove guilt," according to Weissman.

"The government may have proof of false statements, but if it was counting on using misleading statements to meet its burden to establish the charges beyond a reasonable doubt, it is in for a surprise," Weissman wrote.

The main actors driving the case, acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel, lack "deep experience in financial investigations" and found the allegations "exceedingly far-fetched," he added.

'Only a matter of time': Politico pinpoints Trump official likely on the chopping block

FBI Director Kash Patel is likely next on the White House chopping block, according to reports coming out of Washington, D.C.

“It’s only a matter of time,” an anonymous official told Politico's Dasha Burns.

Patel's drinking has become a focal point recently, accusations he denies, but Burns wrote on X that "there are several reasons" why Trump wants Patel out of his cabinet.

"Top among them is the number of negative stories centered on Patel," according to Burns. The anonymous official told her that it's “not a good look for a Cabinet secretary,” and Trump is tired of the distraction he's causing.

Patel has been dogged by controversy since taking over the FBI in February 2025.

The Atlantic reported he alarmed colleagues with excessive drinking and unexplained absences — including a "freak-out" in which he mistook a routine IT error for a firing. He sued The Atlantic for $250 million over the story, then watched a separate defamation lawsuit get thrown out this week.

He has also faced scrutiny for reportedly using FBI jets to visit his girlfriend, assigning her a SWAT security detail, and ordering polygraph tests on bureau officials to find out who had said negative things about him. The Intercept reported this week he previously admitted to two alcohol-related arrests.

Report on Kash Patel's drinking may have an unexpected consequence: analyst

FBI Director Kash Patel may have saved himself from President Donald Trump's wrath with his lawsuit against The Atlantic, a political analyst has claimed.

Patel filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic and staff writer Sarah Fitzpatrick on April 20, 2026, following a bombshell investigative report detailing his alleged excessive drinking and erratic behavior. Patel's legal team characterized the article as "replete with false and obviously fabricated allegations designed to destroy Director Patel's reputation and drive him from office."

Legal experts warned that Patel inadvertently confirmed key details from Fitzpatrick's investigation through his aggressive legal response.

Despite the ongoing embarrassment, Slate reporter Jim Newell suggests that the lawsuit could work out in Patel's favor. He wrote, "While winning that case would be uphill sledding, the report may have ultimately been a useful development for him.

" Trump has been in a firing mood of late, with Kristi Noem, Pam Bondi, Lori Chavez-DeRemer—oh, yeah, Trump canned her this week, whatever—all gone, so all eyes were on which controversy-prone appointee he might turn to next. It’s unlikely to be Patel now, because no way he’s going to let the fake news media push him into a personnel change."

Patel's lodging of a lawsuit had been noted initially as a huge mistake by legal analysts. Analysis from Lisa Needham in the Public Notice Substack noted that only one outcome of the lawsuit benefits Patel.

She wrote, "Much like some of Trump’s media complaints, Patel’s has the flavor of counsel making the grave mistake of letting the client write the thing.

"Nor does Patel’s whining that he only got an 'arbitrary two-hour window' to respond to the story’s allegations before they went to press have anything to do with actual malice."

"Patel would be luckiest if The Atlantic succeeds at getting this thing dismissed right away — no, really. Because if this case goes forward, he’s stuck with discovery."

'Hypersensitive' Kash Patel just revealed he lives in 'constant fear': analyst

Kash Patel would not survive the evidence given against him should his lawsuit against The Atlantic be taken further, a political analyst has claimed.

FBI Director Patel filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic and staff writer Sarah Fitzpatrick on April 20, 2026, following a bombshell investigative report detailing his alleged excessive drinking and erratic behavior. Patel's legal team characterized the article as "replete with false and obviously fabricated allegations designed to destroy Director Patel's reputation and drive him from office."

Legal experts warned that Patel inadvertently confirmed key details from Fitzpatrick's investigation through his aggressive legal response. Lisa Needham in the Public Notice Substack noted, "Patel would be luckiest if The Atlantic succeeds at getting this thing dismissed right away — no, really. Because if this case goes forward, he’s stuck with discovery."

Further analysis from Salon columnist Amanda Marcotte noted that Patel had made it clear he wants attention but may not be ready for the consequences of his lawsuit.

Marcotte wrote, "While this story is funny, I have a different theory as to why it went so viral. I believe it illustrates a widespread suspicion many political observers have about Patel — that he is plagued with a sweaty desire for approval and a constant fear of rejection.

"Patel’s best hope is that the lawsuit is dismissed early, because it’s highly unlikely that the Atlantic green-lit a story they knew, as his lawsuit claims, to be full of 'false and obviously fabricated allegations.' A similar lawsuit against MS NOW got thrown out two days after Patel sued the Atlantic.

"Because he seems so hypersensitive about how people see him, I doubt his ego can survive the process of having Sarah Fitzpatrick, the story’s author, and editors from the Atlantic provide evidence for their claims in court.

"Then again, Patel’s entire stint at the FBI suggests he doesn’t understand that all his efforts to manifest an image of a smart, cool guy that everyone likes are so ham-fisted that they inevitably backfire."

'People can't find him': Kash Patel put on notice as lawmaker decries MIA FBI chief

WASHINGTON — Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) had a serious response on Thursday to reporting involving allegations of FBI Director Kash Patel's conduct and excessive drinking.

In an exclusive interview with Raw Story, the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee described what could come after midterms if Democrats take control of Congress.

"It's going to look pretty good from my vantage point because, you know, we've been trying to investigate so many of the corrupt schemes that we see taking place, and a lot of the incompetence that we see taking place and just the mismanagement," Raskin told Raw Story. "And it comes out this week in The Atlantic magazine that the director of the FBI is passing out drunk; people can't find him. We already knew that he was abusing a lot of the resources of office in terms of the jets and the airplanes. We know that he's been working to cover up the Epstein files. And now it turns out that there's this major drinking problem, which is why we sent him a letter saying he needs to come clean."

Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee this week called on 46-year-old Patel to take an alcohol-abuse test or testify under oath after The Atlantic published a deeply sourced report on his alleged excessive drinking. Raskin sent him a letter seeking a sworn statement statement authenticating the accuracy of his answers.

Patel has since filed a lawsuit following The Atlantic story, denying the accusations.

"He's suing The Atlantic magazine, but it's not just between him and a magazine," Raskin added. "It's between him and the whole country. And we need to know whether or not the director of the FBI has a serious drinking problem that's interfering with his ability to successfully execute the duties of his office."

FBI Director's ex-hockey teammates spill all: 'This is who Kash really is'

Kash Patel's former hockey teammates have shared what the FBI Director is really like behind the scenes.

Patel recently filed a $250 million lawsuit against The Atlantic and staff writer Sarah Fitzpatrick on April 20, following the outlet's bombshell investigative report detailing his alleged excessive drinking and erratic behavior.

The Atlantic's reporting cited multiple FBI officials describing Patel's unexplained absences, panic episodes, and concerning behavior patterns that raised questions about his fitness for office.

Former hockey teammates of Patel, a noted NHL fan, shared that he was very different now than he had been just a few years ago.

CNN reporter Isabelle Khurshudyan wrote, "When a player mentioned something he’d heard about Trump in the media, Patel quipped, 'Don’t believe that fake news,' multiple players on the team recounted.

“'Everyone just sort of laughed it off at the time,' said one player, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation. 'Then like a year or two later, he shows up on Fox News and he sort of has his own segment and everyone was kind of blindsided by that. We were like, ‘Whoa, this is who Coach Kash really is, I suppose.'

"Players were told that Patel couldn’t help coach anymore after the 2019 season because he 'got a really important job,' Luke said. 'Little did we know his job was being buddy buddy with Trump and all that good stuff.'"

Some of the players kept up with the FBI Director and believe the version of Patel seen at the Olympics is quite unlike how he was before joining Trump's administration.

Khurshudyan wrote, "Some of the former players have followed Patel’s career closely over the years, they said, despite not agreeing with his politics.

"Patel’s demeanor at the Olympics was unlike the committed Coach Kash they knew, several players noted. In the Olympics video that went viral, some said they barely recognized their old assistant coach, whom they knew as “intense” and "deeply serious."

Patel made 'grave mistake' in lodging The Atlantic lawsuit — and has only one out: analyst

FBI Director Kash Patel has handed himself only one out with a lawsuit he filed against The Atlantic, a political analyst has claimed.

Patel filed a $250 million lawsuit against The Atlantic and staff writer Sarah Fitzpatrick on April 20, 2026, following the outlet's bombshell report detailing his alleged drinking problem. Patel's legal team characterized the article as "replete with false and obviously fabricated allegations designed to destroy Director Patel's reputation and drive him from office."

The Atlantic's report cited more than two dozen sources, including current and former FBI officials, who alleged Patel has rescheduled meetings to recover from intoxication and has been unreachable when needed.

Fitzpatrick also claimed that, when temporarily locked out of the FBI computer system due to an IT error, "He panicked, frantically calling aides and allies to announce that he had been fired by the White House," according to nine people familiar with his outreach.

Further analysis from Lisa Needham in the Public Notice Substack notes that only one outcome of the lawsuit benefits Patel.

She wrote, "Much like some of Trump’s media complaints, Patel’s has the flavor of counsel making the grave mistake of letting the client write the thing.

"Even if Patel were the World’s Greatest FBI Director as far as law enforcement results, and even if The Atlantic shamefully ignored his great stats, none of that has anything to do with whether the allegations in the article about Patel’s drinking, absenteeism, and impulsivity are true. Nor does Patel’s whining that he only got an 'arbitrary two-hour window' to respond to the story’s allegations before they went to press have anything to do with actual malice."

"Patel would be luckiest if The Atlantic succeeds at getting this thing dismissed right away — no, really. Because if this case goes forward, he’s stuck with discovery."

Needham has since argued that Patel filed the lawsuit potentially to impress President Donald Trump and to fire a warning shot at other publications.

"Patel didn’t file this lawsuit to win," she wrote. "He filed it to show Trump that he’s not just a dilettante flying around on the FBI jet, but a loyal crony who’s fighting back against the fake news media.

"He filed it to send a message to other publications that he will make their lives hell if they report critically on him. But he did not file it because he genuinely believes he can show The Atlantic manufactured all of this out of whole cloth."

Ex-prosecutor flags weak spots in Trump DOJ's new 'revenge docket' lawsuit: 'Worth noting'

A criminal investigation into the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has been filed as an act of revenge from Donald Trump's administration, a legal analyst has claimed.

The legal center has been indicted on federal charges relating to past payments to confidential informants used to infiltrate groups like the Ku Klux Klan. Bryan Fair, the SPLC’s chief executive, called the allegations “false” and said the Justice Department’s actions “will not shake our resolve to fight for justice and ensure the promise of the civil rights movement becomes a reality for all."

Prosecutors allege the center had funneled $3 million into confidential sources within extremist groups between 2014 and 2023.

Joyce Vance, who served as the United States attorney for the Northern District of Alabama from 2009 to 2017, wrote in her Substack, "At first blush, these allegations feel like an extension of the revenge docket and the attacks on universities and law firms, an effort to delegitimize and marginalize an organization that is pushing back against the administration.

"We’ll have a chance to study the charges as we learn more about the government’s evidence. The government’s core theory is that the SPLC paid high-ranking white supremacists, but they seem to ignore the reason—that the use of paid informants was essential to the intelligence the Center was gathering on the groups they were members of, including intelligence that was shared with the FBI."

Vance went on to note that the DoJ's filing named no individuals, and that this could be a telling sign of where the case leads.

"It’s worth noting that only SPLC, as an entity, is indicted here," she wrote. "No individuals are charged. That suggests an inability to identify a specific individual who committed a specific criminal act, or perhaps a lack of confidence in the ability to convict an individual, given the overall context of the work the Southern Poverty Law Center does.

"[Todd] Blanche reiterated that the investigation was ongoing at the press conference. So why rush to indict the case today? Why not wait and see what the investigation reveals before charging? Perhaps it’s that Blanche is auditioning for the AG position and [Kash] Patel is trying to hold onto his. But it may also suggest some weakness in the evidence.

"This administration has targeted people and institutions whose philosophies run contrary to its own, even as it has protected and rewarded its allies, disappearing convictions of people like Steve Bannon and January 6 defendants convicted on serious insurrection charges."