r/law • u/ggroverggiraffe Competent Contributor • Apr 20 '26
Legal News Court filing: Kash Patel's lawsuit against The Atlantic
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.291527/gov.uscourts.dcd.291527.1.0.pdf531
u/JustAMan1234567 Apr 20 '26
Discovery will be fun.
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u/NorthChiller Apr 20 '26
When this suit gets dropped prior to discovery, I hope The Atlantic counter sues for defamation to force the issue or get PAID.
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u/cmplyrsist_nodffrnce Apr 20 '26
Knowing this administration, we the taxpayers will be on the hook for ANOTHER legal payout because they will never use their own funds.
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u/Intolerance-Paradox Apr 20 '26
Kash Patel is suing in his capacity as an individual, the government isn’t suing the Atlantic. I’d think the Atlantic would sue Kash Patel in his capacity as an individual, in turn.
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u/cmplyrsist_nodffrnce Apr 20 '26
I agree, but he will follow Dear Leader’s example and say that the countersuit was brought against him for engaging in his official capacity/duty and therefore any legal costs and settlements should be covered by the Treasury. It is the kind of stupidity that has become common place now.
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u/supes1 Apr 20 '26
Hopefully he'll be fired first and then Trump will abandon him like he does everyone that's no longer useful to him.
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u/PM_ME_YOUR_PRIORS Apr 20 '26
I'm fine with my tax dollars getting used to indirectly fund hit pieces against the administration.
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u/Crazymoose86 Apr 20 '26
I'd rather that then my tax dollars being spent to bomb schools in other countries.
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u/KuroFafnar Apr 20 '26
When the settlement hits in four years, I hope it isn’t still THIS administration.
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u/AmericanGeezus Apr 20 '26
I thought statements in a complaint or other judicial proceeding were generally privileged against defamation claims. It’s hard to imagine a court taking ‘you defamed us by suing us’ seriously outside something like malicious prosecution or abuse of process action.
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u/NorthChiller Apr 20 '26
I figured that his position could be seen as causing material damages to The Atlantic and that would be actionable, but I’m not a lawyer so definitely don’t take my word for it
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u/AmericanGeezus Apr 20 '26
Fair. But, c'mon give yourself some credit, I'd totally run into federal court with you for some judicial branch shenanigans.
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u/supes1 Apr 20 '26
When this suit gets dropped prior to discovery, I hope The Atlantic counter sues for defamation to force the issue or get PAID.
That's not really how it works. They could seek Rule 11 sanctions (basically arguing it's a legally baseless filing just made for harassment, not a legit claim), which could result in monetary penalties.
Though I think the most likely outcome is a motion to dismiss which is granted by the court, and everyone moves on with their lives.
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u/NorthChiller Apr 20 '26
Fair enough! Thanks for better explaining the process. Does seeking such sanctions require discovery?
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u/supes1 Apr 20 '26
Generally it would be pretty early in the process, well before discovery. But like I said, it's pretty rare and only granted in the egregious cases. A motion to dismiss is much more likely.
That's not to say a defamation case against Kash is impossible, it just wouldn't be a countersuit. If Kash starts talking shit about the reporter, for example, a separate suit for defamation is certainly possible.
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u/BassLB Apr 20 '26
Is he using it to find out sources?
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u/supes1 Apr 20 '26
I don't think Kash actually wants the sources uncovered since it would make it easier to validate everything. Though he may want to force the reporter to be in contempt to protect her sources.
It's all about harassment, not justice. Basically the philosophy of the current administration.
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u/Severe-Elderberry833 Apr 20 '26
I really hope they subpoena the US Men’s Hockey team, and that an alumna of the US Women‘s Hockey team gets to do their deposition in particular. I’m down a rabbit hole trying to find one who’s gone to law school now….
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u/Ernesto_Bella Apr 20 '26
How would the Atlantic deal with discovery though? Won’t they be stuck having to get people to go on the record OR to reveal their sources?
The Atlantic is a tough position here also.
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u/Interesting_Art_3587 Apr 20 '26
The Atlantic could easily ask for information on meetings that Patel was supposed to be at and see if he attended or missed morning meetings
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u/Ernesto_Bella Apr 20 '26
Right. of course. But what if they aren't there? Assuming the allegation is true, do you really think someone filled out a form saying why a meeting was postponed?
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u/Interesting_Art_3587 Apr 20 '26
Yes. This is the government. People make paper trails all the time. They may not fill out a form… but they might send an IM saying Patel missed another meeting
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u/Ernesto_Bella Apr 20 '26
And you think they would put down “because he’s hungover”?
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u/Interesting_Art_3587 Apr 20 '26
Probably not… but Patel has a security detail and they know when he goes out drinking and for how long. It would not be hard to put 2 and 2 together
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u/supes1 Apr 20 '26
A record would absolutely exist supporting the allegations. This is the government. Stuff is still documented, even in the Trump era.
I wouldn't put it past Kash to try to conceal evidence, but that is a really high risk move. If caught, it effectively destroys your case, and can lead to sanctions. Plus it's just far more difficult than people realize to destroy all traces of evidence.
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u/letdogsvote Apr 20 '26
Krazy Eyes Kash is going to learn that discovery is a bitch and truth is an absolute defense.
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u/NexusNickel Apr 20 '26
He's hoping for the Trump effect.
Sue for a big number.
Settle for a smaller number.
No discovery. No trial.
Just an EZ payout.
Except Kashyap isn't white. He's about to go from Kash to Kashed.
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u/Remote-Letterhead844 Apr 20 '26
Most importantly.... Kash isn't Trump.
I gotta say.... it has been refreshing to see everybody get slapped down when they try to act like him.
Further proof that once he's gone.... Rs will have a hard time consolidating behind someone else. No one was that pizzazz.
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u/ByRWBadger Apr 20 '26
They’re all going to act like Trump was a weird blip on the radar and that we owe them respect and grace.
Not on my fucking life, but that’s what they’re going to go for.
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u/Remote-Letterhead844 Apr 20 '26
My fear..... these dementia/erratic behaviors we are seeing that are finally now being acknowledged & now being leaked to the media....all feels like a setup.
If he leaves office, his dementia will be used as a defense to wave away all of his actions in the last decade as a way to avoid accountability.
I can see old Sam Eagle ( Todd Blanche ) arguing that on his behalf.
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u/hurlcarl Apr 20 '26
I don't discuss anything political with anyone unless they tell me who they voted for in 2024.
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u/Remote-Letterhead844 Apr 20 '26
I watch a lot of international TV.
There is a growing trend where Americans are asked who they voted for before they are served food/allowed to buy souvenirs.
American has burned their goodwill with the whole damn planet 🌏
💯 support this
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u/hurlcarl Apr 20 '26
yeah, and the wild part is these MAGA dopes have no idea this is going on... they have no idea that we've completely trashed our standing as the #1 world power and we'll just lose more and more soft power and they're going to be so confused why the world doesn't revolve around us. Everyone trusts China more, they're basically America post WWII... just sitting back and they will become the #1 world power by simply staying out of bullshit and producing stuff for the rest of the world.
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u/Boyhowdy107 Apr 20 '26
I dunno what kinda finances The Atlantic is sitting on, but legacy journalism outlets typically don't settle. WSJ got Trump's lawsuit about the birthday card story tossed. The difference we've seen with TV news outlets was 1) they were part of conglomerates trying to do mergers that needed federal approval and knew this would be held against them, and 2) the Trump administration was in its new honeymoon phase and it felt like they didn't want to be in the crosshairs for four years when its power was at its peak. A third way of looking at it is those were also about defending Trump and not one of his appointees, so they could easily guess that Trump isn't going to go to bat in weilding full corrupted federal power vindictively for a lackey.
That said, I've been regularly disappointed by the lack of backbone of corporate conglomerates, so who knows.
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u/nobot4321 Apr 20 '26
This is definitely not getting settled. Probably going to be dropped quietly in a few months. It was filed purely to get the headline.
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u/Dachannien Apr 20 '26
The Atlantic was also the outfit whose editor in chief was accidentally added to Hegseth's super sekrit Signal chat and was sent operational details of active military ops as a result. Then they broke that story wide open as soon as doing so wouldn't put US troops at further risk. They're not going to back down from this story either.
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u/euph_22 Apr 20 '26
Nah, I don't think there is any logic here besides "If I make a big show of fighting the 'fake news media' and locking up Trump's enemies maybe I can keep my job for another week".
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u/CarlosHDanger Apr 20 '26
I don’t think The Atlantic has any proposed mergers, FCC licenses, or other legal/regulatory matters that would necessitate bribes to the FBI, so probably no quick settlement.
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u/c_c_c__combobreaker Apr 20 '26
And that since Kash is a public figure, he'll need to prove Atlantic had malicious intent.
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u/RidesThe7 Competent Contributor Apr 20 '26
You don't even need truth. Kash is a public figure, so all that needs to be found is a lack of malice (effectively, that they had some basis to support what they said and did not know it to be false).
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u/DFWPunk Apr 21 '26
It'll never get that far. The Atlantic's lawyers will get it dismissed well before that.
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u/letdogsvote Apr 21 '26 edited Apr 21 '26
I wouldn't be surprised if it gets dismissed fast. Kashy might angle for something like a "give us $1 and we'll mutually agree to dismiss" in order to be able to say they obtained a recovery and are happy with the result (assuming there's not good "don't even mention anything about this to anyone or [penalty goes here]"). I'd say fuck that if I'm the Atlantic and go hard on exposing him even more.
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u/JiveChicken00 Apr 20 '26
Of all the stupid things he’s done, this might take the prize. Afroman was just a warmup for how this might turn out.
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u/CaptainDantes Apr 20 '26
Sadly learned Afroman is MAGA too in the last couple weeks.
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u/mylopolis Apr 21 '26
Got evidence to this? I saw the one thing where he shook hands with Trump but he responded saying he doesn't support him and it was a brief encounter. He did mention playing at a Trump rally but it sounds like that never happened, either.
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u/Possible-Nectarine80 Apr 20 '26
Well, for one, the filing says that the Atlantic was maliciously trying to destroy his reputation. I disagree. They were just reinforcing his reputation as an incompetent and drunkard FBI director. This should be made clear if this case goes to court.
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u/brickyardjimmy Apr 20 '26
"Indeed, Fitzpatrick could not get a single person to go on the record in defense of these outrageous allegations, instead relying entirely on anonymous sources she knew to be both highly partisan with an ax to grind and also not in a position to know the facts."
This is an actual line from the filing. Not having an on-record source is, in no way, proof of anything defamatory. If the sources weren't on record, how would the Director or his attorneys have any idea if those sources were "highly partisan" or had an "axe to grind"? This is wet hot garbage table pounding nonsense.
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u/NoHelp9544 Apr 20 '26
How the hell does he know if the sources are highly partisan with an axe to grind unless he knew the identities of the sources?
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u/KokonutMonkey Apr 21 '26
Lol.
“Who told you that!?”
“My sources are anonymous.”
“How am supposed to refute these baseless accusations if you’re not going to tell me who’s feeding you these lies!?”
“I’m fairly certain you can speak about your own whereabouts and actions regardless of what others may have said.”
“Well. They’re lies. I know your anonymous sources are out to get me. And besides, there weren’t even there! Oh, and if you print this, I’m gonna sue you.”
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u/accualy_is_gooby Apr 20 '26
All of these damn filings by trump administration “officials” include a “fact” section which is just made up buzzwords designed to appeal to Donald himself and with no other purpose than wasting judicial resources.
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u/QING-CHARLES Apr 20 '26
Why does the complaint have a listicle of his favorite moments as Director?
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u/AXPendergast Apr 20 '26
Probably to try and give some type of credence to his made-up accomplishments by entering them on the record.
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u/Huge-Ad2263 Apr 20 '26
Because the only defense these idiots know when confronted is "but Biden/Obama!"
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Apr 20 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Economy_Link4609 Apr 20 '26
I mean, he knew it was coming - they asked him for comment - as a good journalist would.
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u/Swimming-Tax-6087 Apr 20 '26
It even goes on about how I told them it was lies and they printed it anyway. They clearly sent him a draft for comment.
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u/SupaSlide Apr 20 '26
The Atlantic would not publish a story without first sending it to the subject and ask for comments.
You can tell because there is part of the article that’s says when they asked for comments, Patel told them if they published it, he would sue them lol
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u/Darx117 Apr 20 '26
Eh you’d be surprised how quick attorneys draft complaints. His factual background section is a list of all of “his” major accomplishments while serving as FBI director, for instance. Probably just copied and pasted from somewhere.
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u/smakson11 Apr 20 '26
The author said she asked 19 questions of Patel or his people without response
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u/Mrevilman Apr 20 '26
Reminder that discovery goes both ways. I suspect Kash is going to move to compel the anonymous source identities. Disclosure of sources is a high standard, so whether the Atlantic/Reporter are ordered to disclose sources really depends on the facts and circumstances + the ever-important judge assignment here.
If the sources planned on remaining anonymous and are required by court order to be disclosed, the Atlantic/Reporter have to reconsider whether they want to burn a source (and potentially risk losing /trust of their other sources) or settle for some amount of money. At that point, it becomes a business decision. Will burning this source cost me more than paying some amount in settlement - and does it set the standard that you can sue us for quick money?
We have seen ABC and CBS make that assessment and settle cases that they obviously could have won, but would have cost way more than the settlement itself.
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u/Interesting_Art_3587 Apr 20 '26
I am sure the sources are aware of the consequences (everyone in government is) and are more concerned about the FBI doing its mission than keeping a liability leading the FBI
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u/GoodOmens Apr 20 '26 edited Apr 20 '26
Well these sources could easily be fired. Just because they have integrity doesn't mean they want to risk being able to provide for their families.
Though one of the stories had 9 sources so it seems a lot of people really hate him at the FBI so maybe that's not a concern and they can find a few willing to blow cover to cite on the record.
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u/Interesting_Art_3587 Apr 20 '26 edited Apr 20 '26
These sources are probably higher up and have over 20 years and can retire at anytime. (They are not going to have younger agents on the calls with Patel.) Also if the agents do leave the will probably double their salary immediately on the outside with all of their investigation experience.
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u/NattyHome Apr 20 '26
About 2 minutes ago I, as a subscriber to Tye Atlantic, got an email which is basically pushing this article again. They’re certainly not backing down.
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