美国联邦调查局主任卡什·帕特尔周二表示，他“从未在工作中喝醉过”，此前《大西洋月刊》上周发表了一篇报道，称他有“多次过度饮酒”和工作表现问题。
在周二的一次不相关的新闻发布会上，当被问及这篇文章时，帕特尔斥责了负面的媒体报道。
“我可以毫不含糊地说，我从来不听假新闻黑手党，当他们变得更大声，这只是意味着我在做我的工作，”帕特尔说。
他补充说，“我从来没有在工作中喝醉过，这就是为什么我们提出了2.5亿美元的诽谤诉讼。你们中任何一个想参与的人，来吧。”
周一，帕特尔兑现了就这篇文章起诉《大西洋月刊》的承诺，要求赔偿2.5亿美元。
4月17日《大西洋月刊》的文章称，饮酒导致帕特尔多次无故缺席，引起了整个政府的关注。
在周二的同一个新闻发布会上，代理律师托德·布兰奇(Todd Blanche)表示，他没有读过这篇文章，但也试图反驳其中的几个细节，称这篇文章是基于匿名消息来源，文章的某些部分“明显不真实”
今年2月，有人看到帕特尔在美国金牌曲棍球队赢得奥运冠军后与他们一起喝啤酒。对此，帕特尔说:“我就像一个普通的美国人，热爱自己的国家，热爱曲棍球运动，支持我的朋友，当他们举起金牌并邀请我进去庆祝时。”
《大西洋月刊》表示坚持自己的报道。
《大西洋月刊》在一份声明中说:“我们袖手旁观我们对卡什·帕特尔的报道，我们将在这场毫无根据的诉讼中为《大西洋月刊》和我们的记者辩护。”。
在本周早些时候对ABC新闻的一份声明中，帕特尔说这个故事“是一个谎言”
帕特尔在声明中说:“他们在发表之前就被告知真相，但他们还是选择了发表谎言。”。“我接受这份工作是为了保护美国人民，这个美国联邦调查局实现了美国历史上最高的犯罪率下降。假新闻不会报道，它们的毒性永远不会侵蚀也不会阻止我们的使命。”
Patel responds to Atlantic report, says he's 'never been intoxicated on the job'
FBI Director Kash Patel said Tuesday he's "never been intoxicated on the job," following a report published in The Atlantic last week that alleged he has had "bouts of excessive drinking" and job performance issues.
Asked about the article during an unrelated press conference on Tuesday, Patel railed against negative media coverage.
"I can say unequivocally that I never listen to the fake news mafia and as when they get louder, it just means I'm doing my job," Patel said.
He added, "I've never been intoxicated on the job, and that is why we filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit. And any one of you that wants to participate, bring it on."
On Monday, Patel followed through on a promise to sue The Atlantic over the article, demanding $250 million in damages.
The April 17 Atlantic article alleged drinking has led to multiple unexplained absences by Patel and concern across the government.
Speaking at the same press conference on Tuesday, acting Attorney Todd Blanche said he hadn't read the article but also sought to dispute several details from it, saying it was based on anonymous sources and that certain parts of the article were "blatantly false."
Responding to video from February when Patel was seen chugging a beer with members of the U.S. gold medal hockey team following their Olympic victory, Patel said: "I'm like an everyday American who loves his country, loves the sport of hockey, and champions my friends, when they raise a gold medal and invite me in to celebrate."
The Atlantic said it stands by its reporting.
"We stand by our reporting on Kash Patel, and we will vigorously defend The Atlantic and our journalists against this meritless lawsuit," the Atlantic said in a statement.
In a statement to ABC News earlier this week, Patel said the story "is a lie."
"They were given the truth before they published, and they chose to print falsehoods anyway," Patel said in the statement. "I took this job to protect the American people and this FBI has delivered the most prolific reduction in crime in US history. Fake news won't report it, and their toxicity will never erode nor stop our Mission."
