The Atlantic on Monday escalated its legal fight with FBI Director Kash Patel, asking a federal judge to throw out his $250 million defamation lawsuit.
In a 42-page court filing, obtained and viewed by TheWrap, the magazine contended that Patel’s lawsuit was “an assault” on the First Amendment by “a man who swore to uphold it,” arguing the FBI director is targeting reporting he found “politically inconvenient.” The Atlantic also stated in the filing that Patel’s suit was part of a broader pattern, noting the FBI director has filed multiple defamation lawsuits against media organizations in recent years.
“Merit is not the point,” the motion argued. “By filing these suits, Director Patel sends an ominous message to the press: publishing reporting that he does not like comes at a high cost.”
Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg expanded on the outlet’s filing in a statement Monday, slamming Patel’s defamation lawsuit as “meritless.”
“The Motion to Dismiss filed today by The Atlantic explains why this lawsuit is meritless and should be dismissed as a matter of law,” Goldberg said. “We are simultaneously asking the court to permit us to begin seeking factual discovery from the FBI and the Department of Justice — including documents and depositions of key individuals — that is appropriate given the allegations in this matter. If Director Patel did not want to face this process, he should not have filed this suit.”
He added: “These legal filings are consistent with the promise I made to our staff and to our readers in May: we will defend The Atlantic and its staff vigorously; we will not be intimidated by acts of politically motivated retaliation; we will continue to cover the FBI professionally, fairly, and thoroughly; and we will continue to practice journalism in the public interest.”
The Atlantic argued in its filing that Patel, as FBI director, was unable to meet the constitutional standard requiring public officials to plausibly allege actual malice. According to the filing, Sarah Fitzpatrick’s April article – originally titled Kash Patel’s Erratic Behavior Could Cost Him His Job– was based on interviews with more than two dozen sources and incorporated responses from Patel, the FBI, Justice Department and White House before publication. The magazine said Patel’s complaint relied on “a laundry list of conclusory allegations and generic complaints” that fall short of supporting a defamation claim.
In a separate motion, The Atlantic asked the court to pause broader discovery while allowing it to begin seeking FBI and Justice Department records through Touhy requests, arguing the documents could be critical to its defense and take significant time for federal agencies to process.
The filings mark the magazine’s first substantive legal response since Patel sued in April over Fitzpatrick’s reporting on his tenure atop the FBI. Beyond seeking dismissal, they also preview The Atlantic’s broader strategy: framing the case as a fight over press freedom while seeking government records it believes will bolster its reporting.
The post The Atlantic Files Motion to Dismiss Kash Patel’s $250 Million Defamation Lawsuit appeared first on TheWrap.
