FIRE statement on Kash Patel’s $250M defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic

On April 20, FBI Director Kash Patel filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic for its reporting on the director’s alleged “excessive drinking and unexplained absences.”

The following statement can be attributed to FIRE Senior Attorney Adam Steinbaugh.

The Trump administration has a record of punishing critics, and its officials are no strangers to filing lawsuits meant to silence dissent by driving up the cost of speaking. Today’s filing from FBI Director Kash Patel has all the markings of that playbook.

The First Amendment sets a high bar on defamation cases against public figures. In order to win, Patel must prove not only that The Atlantic published false information, but that the reporter knew it was false or had serious doubts about it, and published it anyway. That high standard is important so that all of us — reporters and citizens alike — can hold our government accountable. 

But sometimes, the lawsuit is the punishment. SLAPP lawsuits are weaponized by the wealthy and well-connected to punish speakers with costly litigation, even if the suit is ultimately thrown out. They’re abuses of America’s legal system, and FIRE fights against these violations of our First Amendment rights.

We deserve to know the truth about how our government works. If news outlets knowingly publish false information, they will be held responsible by courts and by the readers they serve. But unless Patel can meet the First Amendment’s high standard, debate on important issues must remain — as the Supreme Court said — “uninhibited, robust, and wide-open.”