Overview
- The New York Times disclosed Wednesday that the FBI looked into reporter Elizabeth Williamson after her Feb. 28 piece on Alexis Wilkins, then some agents urged a stalking probe that Justice Department officials shut down.
- The FBI said agents interviewed Wilkins about a death threat tied to the article and checked databases, then said it is not pursuing any case against Williamson.
- Times executive editor Joseph Kahn called the move an attempt to criminalize routine reporting and a violation of First Amendment rights.
- Patel has filed a $250 million defamation suit against The Atlantic over separate claims of heavy drinking and absences, and he told reporters he has never been intoxicated on the job.
- Williamson’s original story described Wilkins receiving a full-time FBI SWAT security team and transport, raising questions over Patel’s use of taxpayer resources and the safeguards that prevent retaliation against journalists.