According to RedState, the magazine’s latest effort follows a familiar pattern for the left-leaning outlet, which previously pushed the infamous 2020 “suckers and losers” hoax about President Trump—claims that were later debunked in part by individuals who are hardly allies of the President, including former National Security Adviser John Bolton. The new piece, published Friday, portrays Patel as a paranoid and unreliable leader, alleging he feared losing his job, was frequently absent from work, and was prone to “excessive drinking,” all while offering little in the way of verifiable, on-the-record sourcing.
The article further claimed that “breaching equipment” was allegedly requested “because Patel had been unreachable behind locked doors,” an assertion framed as evidence of chaos and dysfunction at the top of the FBI. In a move that underscores the increasingly activist posture of many legacy outlets, The Atlantic reportedly gave the FBI just two hours to respond before publishing, a window that looks more like a box-checking exercise than a serious attempt at balanced journalism.
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Those who have actually worked alongside Patel, however, quickly pushed back on the narrative, taking to X to strongly deny the allegations and defend his professionalism and work ethic. On Monday, the stakes escalated dramatically when it was revealed that Patel is filing a $250,000,000 lawsuit against The Atlantic, signaling that he intends to challenge the story not just in the court of public opinion but in a court of law.
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RedState’s own media analyst Brad Slager noted that the supposed “bombshell” is already backfiring, in large part because it is so thinly sourced, relying heavily on unnamed individuals unwilling to attach their identities to the accusations. Compounding the credibility problem, the story was reportedly shopped to other outlets before landing at The Atlantic, and those other organizations declined to run with it—a telling sign in an industry not exactly known for restraint when it comes to attacking President Trump’s team.
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The byline on the piece belongs to Sarah Fitzgerald, a staff writer for The Atlantic whose track record raises additional red flags for anyone concerned about journalistic integrity. As critics have pointed out, her involvement should not surprise observers familiar with a previous “blockbuster” story she authored that was riddled with sourcing issues and ultimately fell apart under scrutiny.
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One widely cited post on X reminded readers that, “By the way, @S_Fitzpatrick is also the reporter who wrote the throughly debunked hit piece that claimed Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh drugged women so they could be sexually abused.” The same critic added, “She has a history of writing hit pieces with either no sources on the record or completely discredited sources,” a pattern that aligns uncomfortably well with the current Patel story.
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“There are probably others, too, but that one is a biggie,” the post continued, underscoring how the Kavanaugh smear remains a defining example of how partisan media can weaponize uncorroborated claims against conservative figures. For many on the right, this is not an isolated lapse but part of a broader media ecosystem that rewards sensationalism and ideological conformity over accuracy and fairness.
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Townhall Managing Editor Matt Vespa captured that sentiment succinctly when he observed, “The Atlantic has published fake news before, so this is just typical. Still, this lawsuit should be interesting. The discovery process is likely to be entertaining when none of this turns out to be true.”
For conservatives who have watched years of Russia-collusion hysteria, character assassinations of Supreme Court nominees, and repeated hoaxes aimed at undermining President Trump and his allies, the Patel lawsuit represents more than a personal defense of reputation. It is a rare opportunity to force a powerful media institution to answer, under oath and in discovery, for how stories like this are constructed, who is driving them, and why so many of them seem to collapse when exposed to the sunlight of actual evidence.
