Judge dismisses Patel defamation lawsuit over 'nightclubs' comment on MS NOW |
Judge dismisses Patel defamation lawsuit over ‘nightclubs’ comment on MS NOW
A federal judge in Texas dismissed FBI Director Kash Patel’s complaint against an MS NOW columnist after he suggested on air that Patel spent more time in nightclubs than at the bureau’s headquarters.
In a Tuesday filing, United States District Judge George C. Hanks, Jr., said Patel “failed to allege a viable defamation claim against” former FBI official Frank Figliuzzi.
“A person of reasonable intelligence and learning would not have taken his statement literally: that Dir. Patel has actually spent more hours physically in a nightclub than he has spent physically in his office building,” Hanks wrote, according to court documents.
“By saying that Patel spent ‘far more’ time at nightclubs than his office, Figliuzzi delivered his answer ‘in an exaggerated, provocative and amusing way,’ employing rhetorical hyperbole,” the judge added.
Patel sued Figliuzzi last June over the statement, with his lawyers arguing that the columnist “crossed the legal line by fabricating a specific lie about Director Patel.”
The FBI chief’s attorneys added that the defendant knew “this was a lie” when he said it during a broadcast of “Morning Joe” in May 2025.
Earlier this week, Patel sued The Atlantic for $250 million after the outlet published bombshell reporting that the director was anxious about losing his job and was hard to reach following nights of excessive drinking.
The magazine published a story on Friday titled “The FBI Director Is MIA,” citing conversations with more than two dozen people, including current and former FBI officials, members of Congress, hospitality industry workers and others.
In light of the reports, a watchdog organization has requested records tied to Patel and group of House Judiciary Democrats have pressed the FBI director to take an alcohol disorders test.
The Hill has reached out to the FBI for comment.
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