With acting AG at his side, FBI Director Patel publicly addresses allegations about his conduct

Source: CNN Politics

Updated Apr 21, 2026, 9:03 PM ET
PUBLISHED Apr 21, 2026, 7:36 PM ET


FBI Director Kash Patel, standing at a lectern beside his boss Tuesday, publicly addressed recent allegations that he has drank to excess, interfering with his duties. “I’ve never been intoxicated on the job,” Patel told a room full of reporters Tuesday, after highlighting what he considers to be a string of law enforcement successes since the start of his tenure.

“This FBI director has been on the job twice as many days as every director before me,” Patel said. Standing beside him, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche — whom Patel now reports to — also ridiculed recent reporting in The Atlantic, which said people had previously raised concerns with senior leaders about the FBI director.

Blanche told reporters he didn’t read the story, but that it included “blatantly false” information. Patel has previously denied the allegations made in The Atlantic’s story and filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against the magazine.

On Tuesday, though, he and Blanche were probed on the claims by a room full of reporters at an unrelated press conference. The story, published last week, alleged Patel “alarmed colleagues with episodes of excessive drinking and unexplained absences.”

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/21/politics/kash-patel-excessive-drinking-public-comments