FBI Launches Leak Probe Targeting Reporter Who Exposed Kash Patel’s Partying and Misconduct

The FBI has opened a criminal investigation into leaks that fueled an explosive Atlantic story exposing FBI Director Kash Patel’s alleged excessive drinking, partying, and unprofessional conduct, sources told MS NOW. The investigation focuses on journalist Sarah Fitzpatrick’s reporting, which drew on more than two dozen sources inside the Trump administration and the FBI expressing alarm over Patel’s behavior leading to absences and erratic actions.

What makes this probe especially chilling is that Fitzpatrick’s story did not reveal any classified information. Leak investigations traditionally target officials disclosing state secrets that could threaten national security, not journalists reporting on misconduct. Yet the FBI’s insider-threat unit is reportedly combing through Fitzpatrick’s phone records, social media contacts, and personal data—a stark escalation of government surveillance on the press.

One insider-threat agent told MS NOW, “They know they are not supposed to do this. But if they don’t go forward, they could lose their jobs. You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t.” FBI spokesperson Ben Williamson denied the investigation’s existence, dismissing it as media victimhood in response to “false claims.”

The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg called the potential investigation “an outrageous attack on the free press and the First Amendment itself.” He vowed to defend the magazine and its staff against what he described as politically motivated retaliation, promising continued rigorous coverage of the FBI.

Patel immediately denounced Fitzpatrick’s reporting and filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against her and The Atlantic. Legal experts widely predict the suit will fail, especially since it does not allege any classified leaks. Seth Stern of the Freedom of the Press Foundation condemned the FBI’s reported probe as “outrageous” and “an invasive leak investigation merely to settle a personal vendetta.”

This is not the first time Patel’s FBI has targeted journalists. In March, the bureau investigated New York Times reporter Elizabeth Williamson over a story about Patel’s misuse of FBI resources for his girlfriend, though no charges were pursued. In December, Pulitzer-winning Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson faced an FBI raid following her coverage of the Trump administration’s federal overhaul.

David Graham of The Atlantic summed up the stakes: “If the [MS NOW] report is true, Patel appears to have launched a criminal investigation into a reporter simply because he was embarrassed by her reporting. Even for an administration with an awful record on press freedom, and a bureau with a history of unsavory actions by directors, this is a dangerous step.”

The FBI’s move to weaponize federal law enforcement against journalists exposing corruption and misconduct is a direct threat to democratic accountability. We will keep tracking this story and others like it to ensure those in power face consequences, not cover-ups.