“The Court finds that Figliuzzi’s statement is rhetorical hyperbole that cannot constitute defamation,” U.S. District Court Judge George Hanks Jr. wrote in the decision.

The Court finds that Figliuzzi’s statement, when taken in context, cannot have been perceived by a person of ordinary intelligence as stating actual facts about Patel. As alleged, Figliuzzi’s statement about Patel — again, made in response to a question about Patel’s decreased visibility as Director of the FBI—was that ‘he’s been visible at nightclubs far more than he has been on the seventh floor of the Hoover building,’ ” the judge wrote.

“A person of reasonable intelligence and learning would not have taken his statement literally: that Dir. Patel has actually spent more hours physically in a nightclub than he has spent physically in his office building,” Hanks wrote.

“By saying that Patel spent “far more” time at nightclubs than his office, Figliuzzi delivered his answer “in an exaggerated, provocative and amusing way,” employing rhetorical hyperbole.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/21/kash-patel-fbi-defamation-lawsuit-figliuzzi-dismissed.html?msockid=2b6621c2034b646f1813373a028c657b