FBI reportedly investigates journalist who wrote about Kash Patel's heavy drinking

[0:00] The FBI has reportedly launched a criminal investigation into whether information was [0:04] leaked to a reporter for The Atlantic, who wrote that FBI Director Kash Patel's [0:09] quote excessive drinking was causing deep concern in the bureau. [0:13] Patel was asked about the report last month. [0:15] PATEL PATEL, I have never been intoxicated on the job, [0:18] and that is why we filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit. [0:21] And any one of you that wants to participate, bring it on. I will see you in court. [0:25] AMNA NAWAZ- Late this afternoon, The Atlantic published an update to its story that included [0:29] this photo that shows custom bottles of bourbon with Kash Patel's name on them that he reportedly [0:35] gives out. Joining us now to discuss this and more is Carol Lennig. [0:38] She's the senior investigative reporter for MSNOW. Carol, welcome back. It's good to see you. [0:43] CAROL LENNIG, MSNOW, MSNOW, MSNOW, MSNOW. Good to be with you. [0:45] AMNA NAWAZ- So, I want to start with the news that you broke, [0:47] that the FBI is investigating Sarah Fitzpatrick. That's the Atlantic reporter behind that Kash Patel [0:52] story. And I want to start by putting to you what the FBI assistant director had to say in a [0:57] statement about your report. He said, [1:00] this is completely false. No such investigation like this exists. The reporter you mentioned is not [1:04] being investigated at all. Every time there's a publication of false claims by anonymous sources [1:09] that gets called out, the media plays the victim via investigations that do not exist. Carol, [1:15] what's your response to that? My response is that we stand by our reporting. We have been told by [1:21] multiple sources that at the director's instruction from his executive suite, a unit in Huntsville, [1:29] Alabama was ordered to begin investigating and reviewing this Atlantic reporter's contacts, [1:38] and begin potentially looking at her phone metadata and social media contacts. Again, we don't know the [1:45] status of what the FBI has obtained, but we know that they have been ordered to open this investigation. [1:52] We also, I want to emphasize something for viewers of your show who, you know, probably don't deal with [1:58] the Department of Justice and the FBI every day. When the FBI and the Department of Justice open [2:03] investigation, it's based on typically a predicate that they have reasonable belief that a crime has [2:10] occurred. And in this case, the FBI agents are raising concerns about whether or not any such predicate [2:18] exists to open this investigation. You know, typically when there's an investigation of a leak, it's criminal [2:24] because classified information has been released. And there's a big question mark here about what [2:30] potentially is classified. And there's a big question mark as well about why the FBI has to start with a [2:37] reporter when usually that is the sort of step of last resort. And even Pam Bondi, who repealed the [2:47] requirements for when you could compel telephone metadata or other information from a reporter's provider, [2:57] even though she restricted or loosened those restrictions, Pam Bondi's memo also required that these [3:07] techniques, these investigative techniques, be used only in extraordinary circumstances. [3:12] CAROL, just to underscore your point, Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, [3:16] issued a statement this morning in response to your report, saying in part this. He said, [3:20] If confirmed to be true, an FBI criminal leak investigation targeting our reporter would represent an [3:26] outrageous attack on the free press and the First Amendment itself, we will defend The Atlantic and its [3:32] staff vigorously. But Carol, while I have you, I want to ask you about another topic of news that broke [3:37] this morning. That's the FBI raiding the offices of Virginia State Senate Leader Louise Lucas. She's a [3:43] Democrat. What more do we know about that? This is a case, as it happens, I have been watching for a long [3:50] time to see when it matured, let's say. I have been hearing from sources, and we reported today publicly, [3:59] but I've been hearing for a long time, that this case was brewing. It was first opened under the Biden [4:05] Department of Justice, so at least three years ago, and this investigation was looking into evidence [4:12] suggesting that this prominent Democrat in Virginia state politics had either accepted or solicited bribes. [4:20] I don't know the details of what she's alleged to have taken, but I know that that was the basis for the [4:25] investigation. Another key thing to share with your viewers is that my sources have told me for many, [4:33] many weeks now that former acting U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, a close Trump ally, had put on [4:41] intense pressure on prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia when she was running that office [4:48] to bring charges against Lucas. Now, those prosecutors were worried about the robustness, [4:55] I guess I would say, of this case, but also feeling that it wasn't completely cooked and that Halligan's [5:01] pressure was inappropriate. It was in an effort to sort of land a punch, if you will, against a Democrat [5:08] before the midterms. And now, the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District has indeed [5:14] raided her home. I should say the FBI have under the auspices and direction of the Eastern District [5:21] of Virginia. And we'll see what charges, if any, are brought. [5:25] That is Carol Lennox, senior investigative reporter for MSNOW. Carol, thank you so much for your [5:30] reporting and your time. Thank you. [5:32] Support journalism you trust. Support PBS News. Donate now, or even better, [5:53] start a monthly contribution today.