FBI Director Kash Patel faces accusations of excessive alcohol consumption

FBI Director Kash Patel is not having the best of times. The probability of Donald Trump firing him before the end of the year is 64%, according to the event prediction platform Polymarket. His reputation has plummeted following the publication of a report in the digital media outlet The Atlantic accusing him of excessive alcohol consumption and alleging that his FBI colleagues had trouble waking him up after he had drunk too much. He has denied the allegations and has sued the publication for defamation, seeking $250 million in damages.

His appearance this week at a Senate hearing did little to improve his reputation. In a tense, heated, and contentious debate, he asserted that reports portraying him as a man with a drinking problem are “unequivocally, categorically false.” “I will not be tarnished by baseless allegations,” he told the lawmakers, some of whom he attacked mercilessly.

The meeting, intended to discuss the FBI budget, turned into a powder keg for Patel, who has faced criticism in recent weeks. The Atlantic also published a lengthy report last week alleging that the FBI director has been stockpiling bottles of bourbon. He reportedly travels with some of them, having had his name engraved on the labels, to give away as gifts at public events.

Saturday Night Live (SNL), one of the most iconic comedy shows on American television, has also stirred up the controversy. Last weekend, it aired a skit in which a comedian impersonating Patel arrives at a bar where impersonators of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh (played by Matt Damon), both of whom have also been linked to alcohol, are also present. He boasts to them about having made his own bourbon. “Does this bar take Kash?” says comedian Aziz Ansari, impersonating Patel, as he bursts in.

“I made my own FBI bourbon with my name on it. Yes, somehow this is a real thing that I, the FBI director, has made,” Ansari says in the parody. “I’m the first person in my family to go to college parties many years after graduating,” he adds.

But beyond SNL, Patel challenged lawmakers this past Tuesday during a public hearing in the Senate. Democratic senators asked him if his drinking was affecting his ability to perform his duties as director of the investigative agency. “It’s a very worrying situation,” the Democrats warned. According to The Atlantic, Patel has “alarmed colleagues with episodes of excessive drinking and unexplained absences.”

“It’s a total farce,” Patel declared during a heated exchange with Maryland Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen. “Director Patel, these reports about your conduct, including reports of your being so drunk and hungover that your staff had to force entry into your home, are extremely alarming,” Van Hollen said. “If true, they demonstrate a gross dereliction of your duty and a betrayal of public trust,” the Democrat added. “When your private actions make it impossible for you to perform your public duties, we have a big problem. You cannot perform those public duties if you’re incapacitated.”

Patel, a former chief of staff at the Department of Defense and a former attorney general, responded aggressively. “The only person who was slinging margaritas in El Salvador on the taxpayer dollar with a convicted gangbanging rapist was you,” the FBI director declared. He was referring to Van Hollen’s visit to Kilmar Abrego García, an undocumented immigrant who lived in Maryland and was deported by the Trump administration to the notorious Cecot prison in El Salvador last year.

“The fact that you mentioned that indicates you don’t know what you are talking about,” Van Hollen interjected, explaining that Salvadoran officials had placed glasses on the table during the meeting to make it seem as though Abrego’s time in jail was less harsh than it was, but that neither he nor Abrego had touched them. Furthermore, the Democrat challenged Patel to take a questionnaire that identifies people with alcohol addiction. Patel agreed only if the senator also took it.

Head of the FBI

Patel heads Washington’s largest intelligence agency, with 37,000 staff members spread across 55 field offices in the United States. In addition, the FBI has 350 satellite offices and another 60 overseas branches, monitoring some 200 countries.

Upon assuming office, Patel dismissed several officials who had investigated MAGA members and Trump’s associates. He has overhauled the entire structure and is accused of dismissing experienced agents with expertise on Iran and other national security matters that could make the country more vulnerable.

The FBI director, a staunch Trump supporter, has been accused of forcing some agents to undergo polygraph tests in a search for a mole leaking information to the press. He had a heated exchange on this matter with Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington, who asked Patel if he was using FBI resources to target journalists. “Can you commit to this committee today that no agent-hours have been pulled from other work, like counterterrorism or violent crime investigations, to work on matters related to negative press about you or your personal lawsuit?” Murray asked.

Patel, visibly nervous, blurted out: “I can tell you unequivocally this FBI is targeting and investigating no journalists.” He also denied that polygraphs were being used, despite the fact that the FBI announced last year that it was using this instrument in investigations into leaks from the agency.

Patel, the son of Indian immigrants, defended Trump’s criticism of the agency he now leads during Joe Biden’s presidency for its investigations into some of the participants in the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and those related to members of the Trump family.

“I am deeply concerned about the reports that your leadership has not been serious,” Murray said. “We need somebody at this agency who’s focused on solving criminal cases, not passing out branded bourbon, or jetting around the globe. Your job is to be reachable,” the Washington senator stated. “If you want to pass out liquor, or pop bottles in a locker room, stick to podcasting. Leave law and order to people who really do care more about justice and appearances.”

Murray’s colleague, Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, brought up the video of Patel in Italy during the celebrations for the U.S. women’s ice hockey team’s victory over their longtime rival, Canada, in the final of the Milan Winter Olympics. The footage shows Patel drinking a beer during the players’ celebration in the locker room. Coons inquired about the cost of the trip, for which, according to The Atlantic, Patel brought a stash of his personalized bourbon bottles. The incident led to a reprimand from Trump.

The FBI director argued that he was there to ensure the safety of the athletes and U.S. officials. “We are proud to have had no major security incidents involving U.S. citizens,” he said.

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