Overview
- The MS NOW report, which published Wednesday, said the FBI opened an insider‑threat leak investigation focused on Atlantic journalist Sarah Fitzpatrick after her story on Director Kash Patel.
- The FBI disputed the account and said no such investigation exists, with spokesperson Ben Williamson declaring that the reporter is not under investigation.
- Sources told MS NOW the case sits with an insider‑threat unit in Huntsville, Alabama, which usually chases classified leaks, and they said an inquiry like this could seek phone or social‑media records as some assigned agents voiced concern.
- The Atlantic defended Fitzpatrick and warned that any probe trained on a reporter would be an attack on press freedom, while the story at issue alleged Patel’s heavy drinking and absences and prompted his $250 million defamation suit.
- Policy context looms large because Justice Department protections adopted in 2021 were repealed in April 2025, lowering the bar to obtain journalists’ records, and recent episodes involving a Washington Post reporter’s device seizure and a brief New York Times review have fueled alarm.