Overview
- MS NOW reported Wednesday that the FBI opened a criminal insider‑threat leak probe focused on Atlantic reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick, a claim the bureau’s spokesperson Ben Williamson flatly denied.
- Separate reporting says Kash Patel ordered lie‑detector tests for more than two dozen current and former members of his security detail and support staff to root out suspected leakers.
- The Atlantic published new details that Patel has handed out personalized Woodford Reserve bourbon engraved with “Ka$h Patel FBI Director,” including during official travel, while the FBI said such commemorative gifts are routine and paid for personally.
- Patel has denied allegations of excessive drinking and unexplained absences and is suing The Atlantic and Fitzpatrick for $250 million for defamation, as the magazine stands by its work and its editor calls any probe of its reporter an attack on press freedom.
- Press‑freedom advocates note that leak investigations typically target government employees and classified disclosures rather than journalists, and recent FBI scrutiny of New York Times and Washington Post reporters has heightened concern about a chilling effect inside newsrooms and the bureau.