Democrats Ask Kash Patel To Take Alcohol Disorder Test
Source: Huff Post
Apr 22, 2026, 04:45 AM EDT
WASHINGTON Democrats want FBI Director Kash Patel to prove he hasnt got a drinking problem. In a letter to Patel on Tuesday, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee, led by Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), said he should take the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, a short questionnaire used to screen for harmful or hazardous alcohol use.
There are numerous accounts that you consume alcohol to the point of illness, direct profanity-laced outbursts at support staff, and pass out drunk behind locked doors in episodes making you so unreachable that agents have had to fetch SWAT-level breaching equipment to awaken you, the letter says.
The letter is based primarily on a story published last week in The Atlantic reporting that two dozen unnamed sources inside and outside the FBI believe the problems with his conduct go well beyond what has been previously known, and include both conspicuous inebriation and unexplained absences.
Patel denied the story and sued The Atlantic this week for $250 million in damages over its alleged defamation of his character, claiming the magazine published false and obviously fabricated allegations designed to destroy Director Patels reputation and drive him from office.. But theres no denying that time Patel aggressively chugged beer on camera with the American mens ice hockey team after their gold medal victory in the Winter Olympics.
Read more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/kash-patel-drinking-atlantic-defamation_n_69e831bae4b0dc1990b723a4?origin=home-latest-news-unit
Link to House Judiciary Democrats PRESS RELEASE - Judiciary Democrats Launch Investigation into Reports of FBI Director Kash Patels Alcohol Abuse, Demand He Submit to Alcohol Abuse Screening
Link to House Judiciary Democrats LETTER (PATEL inquiry) (PDF) - https://democrats-judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/democrats-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2026-04-21-raskin-et-al-to-patel-fbi-re-conduct.pdf
Link to House Judiciary Democrats LETTER (PATEL inquiry CC: COMER) (PDF) - https://democrats-judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/democrats-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2026-04-21-raskin-et-al-to-jordan-re-patel.pdf
Ray Bruns
(6,531 posts)bucolic_frolic
(55,463 posts)Blues Heron
(8,915 posts)FakeNoose
(41,989 posts)He'll lie through the entire test, so his test results will be questionable. But the people who interact with him on a daily basis ... they're the ones who know the truth.
mopinko
(73,812 posts)r only as good as the answers u give. if u dont want to admit u have a problem, u lie.
ultralite001
(2,591 posts)Self reporting is notorious for self reporting bias. People lie.
Serious questions about serious compromise of the FBI's Director to perform his official duties require serious answers.
Random blood + urine alcohol / drug testing... Breathalyzer... The works... By independent, board certified, legally qualified individuals +
labs. No appointments. No time to prep. No time to swap bodily fluids w/ another individual or otherwise fudge the results. No cheating.
Release the results to the American public -- All the results.
America is in peril. Ka$h is doing nothing to make America safer, +, as Director of the FBI, Ka$h may be significantly contributing to it's problems...
Let the investigations begin.
Remember the FBI motto: "Fidelity -- Bravery -- Integrity"...
Once that's done, let's move on to the President + members of his Cabinet + other appointees... It's time for Spring Cleaning...
TheRickles
(3,450 posts)in a face-off against AOC and Raskin and whoever, as they complete this questionnaire.
And then round two will be cognitive testing, with Trump going head-to-head against Schiff (or anyone, really). And when the R's decline, call them "Chicken!". I'm guessing it'd be good for a few headlines, either way.
LetMyPeopleVote
(180,763 posts)If the beleaguered FBI director was hoping the allegations about his alleged drinking problem would be a one-day story, he has reason to be disappointed.
I have a hunch Kash Patel wonât like the fact that House Democrats are demanding that he submit to alcohol abuse screening.
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-04-22T14:29:16.781Z
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/house-democrats-launch-patel-probe-demand-he-submit-to-alcohol-abuse-screening
For the sake of our own security, we need to know, for example, how many drinks containing alcohol do you have on a typical day when you are drinking, how often during the last year have you failed to do what was normally expected from you because of drinking, how often during the last year have you needed a first drink in the morning to get yourself going after a heavy drinking session, and how often during the last year have you been unable to remember what happened the night before because you had been drinking?
The Judiciary Committees Democrats also sent a parallel letter to Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, who chairs the panel, urging additional security in light of the seriousness of the allegations.
Given the severity of the national security risks associated with these, we request that you make clear to Director Patel that if he fails to provide the requested information by next weeks deadline, the Committee will be requiring him to appear at a hearing in person and under oath to address Members well-founded concerns, they wrote.,,,,
Meanwhile, Donald Trump hasnt exactly scrambled to defend his handpicked FBI director. In fact, the president has been conspicuously quiet about the former podcast personality of late, failing to say his name out loud or online in roughly a month.
The Atlantics report added that Patel is deeply concerned that his job is in jeopardy. Theres no great mystery as to why.
BidenRocks
(3,393 posts)Drinking problems will show up in elevated liver enzymes.
Mine ratted me out.
Light Cirrhosis. Busted.
usonian
(25,962 posts)
LetMyPeopleVote
(180,763 posts)travelingthrulife
(5,376 posts)his office when he was passed out.
Put it out there if you took an oath to protect our country.
