Kash Patel's Lawsuit Could EXPOSE Everything he tried to hide !

Added: 2026-05-05

[00:00:00]Joining us now, former FBI official and MSNBC national security and intelligence analyst Chris O'Leary. Joyce Vance is former US attorney and MSNBC legal analyst. Ashley Parker, staff writer at The Atlantic, is back with me. Joyce, knowing what's public about 6 years of investigations into 2020, including rulings by Republican-appointed judges, what are the chances we're on the precipice of a history-changing conspiracy being unmasked?

[00:00:30]I suppose that there's a non-zero chance of just about anything, but the timing on this one is suspect at best. This issue involving the election has been litigated again and again. Uh I think that this is very likely more about politics than it is about anything else.

[00:00:50]Chris, how unusual is it? I mean, look, first, we're used to FBI directors coming out, and they're usually flanked by a bunch of people, and they say that they have made a series of arrests or they have filed a lawsuit, whatever. But when you announce a future arrest on TV or a series of future arrests, how unusual is that?

[00:01:12]You don't do that, but but when you're an unqualified sycophant uh who should not be the director of the FBI, he's catering to the White House uh and to President Trump, who has alleged these conspiracies going all the way back to when he didn't win an Emmy for uh The Apprentice, and then when he lost the Iowa caucuses to Ted Cruz, and on and on and on. So, he, you know, every time Kash uh you know, embarrasses himself, the FBI, and the country, he then does something to distract and to please President Trump. Um and this, to me, just seems like the latest episode. And we can reflect back just, you know, a couple of months when uh the FBI and Tulsi Gabbard uh seized the the, uh voter information down in Fulton County, something that is clearly inappropriate and not based on any facts.

[00:02:06]So, Ash Kash Patel went on television and announced arrests coming soon. Not we made arrests. Not here are the charges. Not here is who we got.

[00:02:18]He went on TV and said, "Arrests are coming."

[00:02:21]Future tense.

[00:02:22]Like he's dropping a movie trailer for a political witch hunt that hasn't even been written yet.

[00:02:28]You know who does that? Not an FBI director. An FBI director does not do that. You know what an FBI director does? He stands at a podium, flanked by actual law enforcement professionals, announces something that already happened, names the charges, and answers questions.

[00:02:47]That is the job. That has always been the job.

[00:02:50]Kash Patel went on television and did a teaser for arrests that haven't happened about an election that was litigated, relitigated, investigated by Republican-appointed judges, investigated by his own party's officials in battleground states, thrown out of court over 60 times, and the answer every single time was the same: nothing.

[00:03:12]There was nothing there.

[00:03:14]And now Kash Patel, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, is out here treating the 2020 election like it's a cold case he just cracked open 6 years later on cable news with a tease.

[00:03:29]Think about what that actually is for a second.

[00:03:33]This is not a law enforcement action.

[00:03:35]This is a man auditioning.

[00:03:38]Auditioning for Donald Trump's approval.

[00:03:41]Because the former FBI official in that clip said it plain.

[00:03:45]Every time Patel embarrasses himself and the bureau, he does something to distract and to please the president.

[00:03:53]And this is the latest episode in that pattern.

[00:03:56]Remember when Tulsi Gabbard and the FBI seized voter information in Fulton County?

[00:04:01]No legal basis. No facts supporting it.

[00:04:05]Just we're going in and grabbing data because the president likes it when we do that.

[00:04:10]That was a few months ago.

[00:04:12]Now it's arrests coming soon. And then after that, there'll be something else.

[00:04:17]Something new. Another distraction.

[00:04:20]Another performance. Another moment crafted specifically to make Trump feel like his people are fighting for him.

[00:04:28]The problem is the FBI is not supposed to be fighting for any one person.

[00:04:33]The FBI is supposed to be independent, apolitical. That's not a liberal talking point. That's the foundational design of the institution.

[00:04:43]And what Kash Patel has done in his time as director is strip that out completely and replace it with one single operating principle. What does Trump want today?

[00:04:54]Chris Orr, a former FBI official, said it right there in that clip. No trust.

[00:05:00]No confidence. Not just inside the bureau. Across the entire law enforcement community. Across intelligence agencies. Across international partners. Because the FBI's credibility is not just domestic.

[00:05:14]It is global.

[00:05:16]When you have a director running a clown car sideshow, as he called it, the damage doesn't stay inside one building in Washington. It radiates outward. And by the way, arrests coming soon. I keep coming back to that.

[00:05:31]Because Ashley Parker made the connection immediately, and she's right.

[00:05:36]That is the exact same energy as Pam Bondi standing there saying, "The Epstein files are on my desk, and I'll be releasing them soon." Remember that?

[00:05:46]"They're on my desk. Coming soon. Any day now." And then nothing. Silence. The files never came.

[00:05:55]Pam Bondi got pushed out, and the files are still wherever they were before she said they were on her desk.

[00:06:01]These people are running the same play over and over. Announce something dramatic. Build the expectation. Let Trump's base get excited. And then either quietly drop it or blame someone else when it doesn't materialize. It's a distraction machine, and Kash Patel is the latest operator running it.

[00:06:20]If you're still watching, hit like and drop a blue heart in the comments. So, your colleague at The Atlantic, Sarah Fitzpatrick, reports in that article that several officials told her Patel had consumed alcohol to the point of obvious intoxication in front of White House officials and other Trump administration staff. On multiple occasions within the past year, members of his security detail have also had difficulty waking Patel because he was seemingly intoxicated.

[00:06:49]These are the allegations Patel is challenging in his suit, but I know you've reported on Patel's standing with the president. Do we know where he stands with the president right now?

[00:07:01]We have some sense. Um so, someone I spoke with in the White House had told me that that incident that did involve at least an image of him drinking with the US hockey team at the Olympic had obviously displeased the president. It's worth noting here that President Trump is someone who does not drink, has never uh drank. Uh his older brother um died after a long illness with alcoholism. Um And so, it's something in general, substances, uh substance abuse, alcohol, that the president does not like. He doesn't like to see his aides engaging in that. And again, I we we don't know how much he was drinking there. There was just that one image, but I know the president was upset or displeased, as it was put to me, about that one image. And then generally, when Pam Bondi was pushed out as attorney general, uh we heard rumors that there were other people in the White House who were also going to be next to go. And one of those was Kash Patel. And in talking to several senior officials at the White House, they basically did not wave me or my colleagues off of his name being on that list, but they also said, you know, there's nothing imminent. It's not like he's getting pushed out tomorrow. But yes, he is one of this handful of people serving the president who there have been ongoing slow-moving discussions about when is the appropriate time for them to leave.

[00:08:25]So, Chris, what impact could this reported behavior from an FBI director have overall on the agency and its staff?

[00:08:33]Well, I'll tell you there is no trust and confidence uh in Kash Patel's abilities within the FBI, but also, uh you know, across the law enforcement community in the United States, the intelligence community, and our international partners. The FBI has been effective since its its birth in 1908 because it builds strong partnerships, and it sets a standard for professionalism with law enforcement and intelligence. And all of that has been abandoned with the the actions and the the clown car sideshow of Kash Patel. I mean, frankly, people within the FBI think he's a dumpster fire.

[00:09:11]Ashley, when you look at Patel's announcement of, quote, "Arrests coming soon," and then we hear of a separate effort to investigate the 2024 election in Michigan, spearheaded by someone, I should say, who's widely reported to be jockeying to be the next attorney general.

[00:09:27]Um is it a far reach to think this is a way to get into the president's good graces?

[00:09:36]Well, first I have to say, when Kash announced, uh you know, "Arrests coming soon," to me, I just had flashbacks again of former Attorney General Pam Bondi saying, "The Epstein files are on my desk, and I'll be releasing them soon." Um it Let's bring in MSNBC senior investigative reporter Carol Lennig and MSNBC national security and intelligence analyst and former FBI supervisor Rob D'Amico. Carol, what more can you tell us about this new lawsuit and the kind of discovery it could lead to?

[00:10:08]Yes, it's really interesting to me. Kash Patel has has threatened to sue many many people including me and my colleagues here at MSNBC. He's threatened to take legal action many times. He's sent these kinds of letters that warn you that if you publish XYZ, there could be problems or after you publish something, they send you letters telling you to preserve certain information so they could prepare for a possible lawsuit. This is the first time since he's been FBI director that I know of that he's sued a reporter and an outlet claiming that he has a defamation lawsuit. It's a very good question Anna that you raised about discovery because if Patel follows through with this suit, he will have to participate in providing information to show that this that these reports were false, defamatory and that the reporters likely knew that it was false and and also defamatory. And that's going to be tricky to do. Um, I would just stress that when that information is provided from internally from the FBI, some other things that Kash Patel doesn't want known might become known and that could be problematic. Some information that the reporter reported could be partially corroborated or verified by internal FBI information and that is the risk of discovery in this kind of suit.

[00:11:35]I want to read the statement from The Atlantic responding to this new lawsuit.

[00:11:40]Quote, we stand by our reporting on Kash Patel and we will vigorously defend The Atlantic and our journalists against this meritless lawsuit. Rob, again, the article cited more than two dozen people in conversations with current and former FBI officials. What kind of impact could this lawsuit have on the bureau? Well, the the bureau's already under a lot of stress with him because of the things that have been going on.

[00:12:07]These rumors have been flying around for a long time. I've heard them from very internal people, but they weren't quotable. Like at the time people worried about getting fired. And what I think what you're seeing now is The Atlantic obviously is very uh strong in their story. They have sources that are willing to say something. And the fact that he's doing it more and in public places, they can bring others in to testify in that. But also, the the FBI folks that are around him, his security detail, and his other people, when they get put in, if they if it comes down to discovery and they get sworn to testify, they are not going to lie under oath. They're going to say things. Also, their texts between each other, if they had to supposedly break down a doorway to get in there to get him to a meeting, that's somewhere in communications. That's on text, that's in email, something transpired and that's all discoverable. But the tactic of suing is just it's like we have a saying in interrogations, deny everything and make counter accusations.

[00:13:03]And that's kind of what you see with the Trump thing is they they threaten to sue because they know people don't want to get that. And that's the first time he's doing it, but he also realized I think with Trump, he does not like drinking and and these rumors and that hockey video of him drinking, I think he like when he couldn't log in, thought he got fired, he is also under the impression that he is close to being fired. And I think it's probably for the drinking and he wants to come back strongly against that. And and Carol, can you just lay out more of the reporting? What do we know about this alleged behavior that is apparently sparking concern?

[00:13:38]So, Rob's exactly right that this rumor has been out there for a long time about drinking to excess and to the point that uh FBI agents who are on his detail and others had to rouse him essentially.

[00:13:51]That >> Kash Patel is now suing The Atlantic.

[00:13:54]The director of the FBI, the top law enforcement official in the United States of America, the man who runs the institution that is supposed to be above reproach, above politics, above personal grievance, is suing a news outlet because they reported that he was drunk repeatedly in front of White House staff, in front of Trump administration officials, and that his own security detail, the agents assigned to protect him, had difficulty waking him up.

[00:14:25]That's not a rumor someone whispered in a hallway. The Atlantic's reporting cited more than two dozen current and former FBI officials. Two dozen.

[00:14:36]And Patel's response to all of that sourcing, all of that corroboration, all of those people willing to go on record, was to file a lawsuit. Which, okay, he can do that. This is America. You can sue people. But here's where this gets genuinely interesting and I mean genuinely chaotic in the way only this regime can manufacture chaos. Carol Leonig laid it out in that clip and she is absolutely right.

[00:15:04]If Patel follows through with this suit, he opens a legal process in which he has to produce information.

[00:15:12]He has to show that The Atlantic's reporting was false.

[00:15:16]He has to demonstrate that the reporters knew it was false.

[00:15:20]And in order to do that, internal FBI communications come out. Texts come out.

[00:15:27]Emails come out. Security detail logs come out. All of it becomes potentially discoverable.

[00:15:34]And here's the thing about FBI agents, about the people on his security detail specifically.

[00:15:41]These are not political appointees.

[00:15:43]These are not people who got their jobs because they donated to a campaign or because they went to Mar-a-Lago and took a photo with the right person.

[00:15:52]These are career professionals.

[00:15:55]And when they get put under oath, they are not going to lie.

[00:15:59]Rob Demo said it plainly, they are not going to lie under oath.

[00:16:03]So, Kash Patel, in his attempt to silence The Atlantic and protect his image, may have just handed journalists, attorneys, and ultimately the public a legal instrument to find out everything.

[00:16:17]Every text, every email, every communication that exists from the people who were literally standing next to him when these incidents allegedly occurred.

[00:16:27]If agents had to break down a door to get him to a meeting, and that is what was reported, that interaction is documented somewhere.

[00:16:35]It is in a communication. It happened in real life, which means there is a record. And records are discoverable.

[00:16:42]Rob Demo called it exactly what it is.

[00:16:45]Deny everything and make counter accusations. That's the Trump regime playbook. Sue the outlet, threaten the reporters, send letters, make it uncomfortable, make it expensive, make people think twice before they publish.

[00:17:00]And Kash Patel has been running that play for a long time. Carol Leonig mentioned he's threatened to sue her and her colleagues at MSNBC multiple times.

[00:17:11]Sent warning letters, preservation letters, the whole intimidation toolkit.

[00:17:16]This is just the first time he actually filed.

[00:17:19]And why now?

[00:17:21]Why this particular story? This particular moment?

[00:17:25]Because of the drinking. Trump does not drink. He has never drunk. His older brother, Fred Trump Jr., died from complications related to alcoholism and that shaped Trump's relationship with alcohol in a profound way.

[00:17:39]He does not like it. He does not want to see it around him.

[00:17:43]And the image of Kash Patel at the Olympics with the US hockey team visibly drinking got back to Trump and it upset him. That one image, not the broader policy failures, not the announcement of fake future arrests, not the Fulton County voter data seizure that had no legal basis.

[00:18:01]A photograph of Kash Patel holding a drink is what displeased the president.

[00:18:06]And then the reporting came out. Not just the one image, but multiple occasions. Drinking to obvious intoxication in front of White House staff.

[00:18:16]Trump administration officials watching this.

[00:18:19]And apparently agents needing to rouse him because he was seemingly intoxicated.

[00:18:24]And Patel, who by all accounts already knew he was on the exit list, who reportedly thought he was fired when he couldn't log into his systems, filed a lawsuit trying to knock it all down.

[00:18:36]That is a desperate move.

[00:18:38]That is the move of someone who is watching the walls close in and deciding that aggression is the only option left.

[00:18:45]Because what else does he do?

[00:18:48]Quietly issue a denial? That doesn't play in this environment. Quietly resign? That confirms everything.

[00:18:55]No. You sue. You go loud. You make it a fight.

[00:19:00]You give Trump the impression that you are a fighter. That you are pushing back. That you are not going quietly because the one thing that might keep you employed is looking tough in front of the one person whose opinion matters.

[00:19:13]But the lawsuit is a trap he set for himself.

[00:19:17]The Atlantic responded immediately. They are standing by their reporting. They said it was meritless and they will vigorously defend it. And they will because they have the sources, more than two dozen of them. And when discovery begins, if Patel doesn't blink and drop the suit, those sources get to testify under oath, on the record.

[00:19:39]And the FBI internal communications that could either confirm or complicate his version of events get pulled into the light.

[00:19:46]Think about the irony of this. The man who runs the most powerful domestic law enforcement agency in the country who has the tools of federal surveillance and investigation at his disposal who oversees thousands of trained agents is going to lose a discovery battle to a magazine because the magazine talked to the people who were in the room and those people are going to tell the truth.

[00:20:11]Meanwhile the broader picture of what is happening at the FBI right now is genuinely alarming if you care about institutions at all.

[00:20:21]Career officials are leaving. Agents are exiting.

[00:20:24]People who spent decades building expertise in financial crime, counterterrorism, cybersecurity, international intelligence partnerships are walking out.

[00:20:35]And not quietly.

[00:20:37]They are leaving and then going public and ripping the leadership because what has been built under Patel and Trump is not a law enforcement agency anymore.

[00:20:46]It is, as Chris Orr said, a crony factory.

[00:20:50]A machine designed to serve the personal and political interests of one man.

[00:20:55]And the agents who remain, they are under stress. Rob Demo made that clear.

[00:21:00]The bureau is under enormous stress.

[00:21:03]These are people who took their jobs seriously, who believed in the institution, who trained for years to reach the level of expertise that the FBI demands. And now they are being asked to pivot from that work to whatever performance the White House needs that week.

[00:21:20]Announce future arrests about a 6-year-old election.

[00:21:24]Seize voter data from a county in Georgia.

[00:21:26]Be the enforcement arm of a political operation rather than an independent law enforcement body.

[00:21:33]The FBI has been effective, as that former official said, since 1908.

[00:21:39]117 years because it built partnerships, because it set a standard because international intelligence partners trusted it.

[00:21:48]Domestic agencies deferred to it.

[00:21:51]And all of that, the trust, the partnerships, the standard, the credibility is being burned down in real time by a man who allegedly cannot stay sober long enough to make it to his own meetings.

[00:22:03]And he announced arrests coming soon on television.

[00:22:08]I want to go back to that because it connects to something broader about what this administration is doing with law enforcement as a concept.

[00:22:16]When you announce future arrests, you are not doing law enforcement. You are doing theater.

[00:22:23]You are creating anticipation.

[00:22:25]You are giving the base something to chew on.

[00:22:28]You are making Trump feel like his people are delivering on the revenge narrative he has been running since 2020.

[00:22:35]But actual arrests, actual charges, actual legal accountability requires actual evidence.

[00:22:42]And the 2020 election has been investigated so many times by so many people, including Trump's own appointed judges that if the evidence existed, it would have been found. It was not found because it is not there.

[00:22:57]So, what does arrests coming soon actually mean?

[00:23:00]It means nothing. It means Patel needed a headline.

[00:23:04]It means someone in the White House or close to it wanted the base energized around election conspiracy content again.

[00:23:11]It means the playbook is being run again. Tease the thing, build the excitement, let it fade. Move to the next tease.

[00:23:19]The Epstein files are on my desk. The big, beautiful healthcare plan is almost ready.

[00:23:26]It's all the same sentence with different nouns.

[00:23:29]And separately, there is a reported investigation into the 2024 election in Michigan being run by someone described as jockeying to be the next Attorney General.

[00:23:40]Michigan, the 2024 election. That one they actually won.

[00:23:45]So, now they are investigating the election they won in Michigan being run by someone who wants the Attorney General job while the current FBI director announces future arrests on TV.

[00:23:57]And none of this is normal. None of it.

[00:24:00]And the danger of covering this administration for 3-plus years is that the abnormality starts to feel like the baseline.

[00:24:08]You see FBI director sues news outlet over drinking allegations and part of your brain files it under Tuesday.

[00:24:16]But it is not Tuesday.

[00:24:18]This is extraordinary dysfunction from the institution responsible for domestic law enforcement in the United States of America. Kash Patel is an unqualified sycophant running a once-respected agency into the ground while trying to keep his job by announcing fake future events on television and suing journalists who report on his actual behavior.

[00:24:41]And Trump, who built his whole brand on loyalty and competence, is reportedly thinking about replacing him because of a photograph at a hockey game.

[00:24:51]The FBI agents around him are not going to lie under oath. The Atlantic is not going to back down. The sources are not going to disappear. The texts exist. The emails exist. The security detail logs exist. And if this lawsuit moves forward all of it comes out.

[00:25:09]Kash Patel opened Pandora's Box trying to close a magazine.

[00:25:14]100K we actually did it.

[00:25:17]I genuinely did not see this coming when we started. And I'm sitting here a little speechless if I'm being honest.

[00:25:24]Every single one of you who watched, who shared, who stuck around for the long ones, who dropped a comment at 2:00 a.m.

[00:25:32]This is entirely because of you. I don't have words that are big enough for what that means to me.

[00:25:39]Thank you.

[00:25:40]From the bottom of my heart. Actually thank you.