The FBI Director Scandal That No One Saw Coming

TL;DR

FBI Director Kash Patel faces allegations of chronic alcoholism and erratic behavior, with over two dozen sources telling The Atlantic he is dangerously unfit for the role.

Key Points

• 1.Kash Patel is accused of habitual, disruptive drinking. Over two dozen sources told The Atlantic he drinks to obvious intoxication at private clubs like Neds in D.C. and in Las Vegas, forcing briefings to be rescheduled and his security detail to struggle waking him on multiple occasions.
• 2.Patel's absence has caused real operational damage at the FBI. Officials say his chronic absenteeism has compounded bureaucratic bottlenecks, delayed time-sensitive investigative decisions, and caused normally composed agents to, in their words, 'lose their shit.'
• 3.His behavior includes a dramatic false-firing panic. Patel reportedly struggled to log into an internal computer, convinced himself he'd been locked out, and frantically called aides announcing he'd been fired — prompting members of Congress to call the White House asking who was in charge.
• 4.Patel is suing The Atlantic for $250 million, alleging defamation. He claims his lawyers asked the outlet for more time to refute the claims, but it published anyway; to win, he must prove the information is false and that The Atlantic acted with actual malice.
• 5.Trump's feelings toward Patel are ambiguous. He's reportedly unbothered by internal FBI grumblings and pleased with Patel's agency purges, but complains Patel seems unprepared for TV and is too slow investigating the president's enemies; Trump also reportedly scolded Patel for chugging beer with the Olympic hockey team.
• 6.The scandal unfolds against a backdrop of the U.S.-Iran crisis. With a collapsing ceasefire over the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. forces boarding an Iranian-linked vessel, and Trump threatening to destroy Iranian power plants and bridges, having an allegedly impaired FBI director during a conflict with a state sponsor of terrorism alarms officials.
• 7.Patel is attempting to win back Trump's favor through political loyalty. On Fox News he announced upcoming arrests tied to the 2020 election, vowed never to drop investigations into those who 'attacked' Trump's presidency, and is positioning himself as a culture-war ally to shore up his increasingly precarious position.