FBI Director Kash Patel clashes with senator over report of his excessive drinking

FBI Director Kash Patel angrily lashed out at a Democratic lawmaker at a budget hearing Tuesday, calling allegations that he drinks excessively on the job and that staff have found him unreachable at times “unequivocally, categorically false.”

“I will not be tarnished by baseless allegations,” Patel told Sen. Chris Van Hollen when the Maryland Democrat confronted him about a recent article in The Atlantic magazine that painted an unflattering portrait of his leadership of the nation’s premier federal law enforcement agency.

“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 to Patel. “If true, they demonstrate a gross dereliction of your duty and a betrayal of public trust.”

Patel denied the reporting is accurate. He has launched a defamation lawsuit against the publication over the story.

The Atlantic has said it stands by its reporting and would vigorously defend against the “meritless lawsuit.”

WATCH | About Kash Patel’s lawsuit :

The Atlantic’s $250M Kash Patel problem | About That

Andrew Chang explains why FBI Director Kash Patel filed a defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic over a story alleging that he ‘alarmed colleagues with episodes of excessive drinking and unexplained absences.’

Images provided by The Canadian Press, Reuters and Getty Images

Patel shouted over Van Hollen and sought to turn the tables by accusing him of “slinging margaritas” in El Salvador, a reference to a visit the Democrat paid last year to Kilmar Abrego Garcia who was jailed there following his arrest and wrongful deportation amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

The testy exchange occurred at an annual Senate committee budget hearing featuring Patel and other senior law enforcement leaders.

Patel eventually said he would take a test about his alcohol consumption. He committed to taking the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), as long as the senator took it, too, he said, “side by side.”

In a later exchange, the FBI director refused to answer Van Hollen, who repeatedly asked Patel whether he was aware that lying to Congress is a crime.

Patel said that he had not perjured himself during his testimony.

WATCH | Senator calls Patel ‘a disgrace’:

U.S. senator calls FBI director ‘a disgrace’

Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen called FBI Director Kash Patel ‘a disgrace’ during a committee hearing in Washington when Patel refused to answer a question about whether he’s aware lying to Congress is a crime.