US President Donald Trump maintains confidence in FBI Director Kash Patel despite reports of his alleged drinking problems, White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt said.
“The president remains confident in the FBI director and our law enforcement team to continue to do their jobs as well as they have for the past year and a half,“ Leavitt told reporters.
She stressed that, in part, thanks to Patel's efforts, the current US administration has managed to achieve “a 125-year low in homicides nationwide“.
On April 17, The Atlantic published an article citing sources claiming that Patel is often absent from work, excessive use of company vehicles, including airplanes, for personal purposes, and alcohol abuse. According to the publication's sources, the intelligence chief's behavior is considered by some of his colleagues to be a threat to national security.
The FBI rejected the main points of the article, and Patel filed a $250 million lawsuit against the magazine and its author.