Dan Abrams Says Kash Patel’s $250 Million Lawsuit Against The Atlantic Will ‘NEVER Make It to Trial’

 

Dan Abrams argued on his radio show Monday that FBI Director Kash Patel won’t get a single penny from the $250 million defamation lawsuit he filed against The Atlantic, days after the outlet reported he had “alarmed colleagues with episodes of excessive drinking and unexplained absences.”

Abrams, the founder of Mediaite and chief legal analyst for ABC News, discussed the case on his SiriusXM show and called his shot — saying there’s no chance Patel ultimately prevails.

“I’m going to make a bold prediction here: this lawsuit will never make it to trial, and The Atlantic will never have to pay a penny,” Abrams said. “That’s my opinion. That’s my prediction. To be very clear — legally, I’m allowed to have my opinion. I’m not stating that as a fact, I’m saying that’s my guess.”

He then made his case.

Abrams started off by pointing to two quick reasons he believes Atlantic staff writer Sarah Fitzpatrick is in the clear: “a) she’s got a long reputation and b) she obviously has a lot of sources here.”

“Here’s why it won’t make it to trial,” he continued, “is because the discovery associated with it would require Patel to turn over all sorts of documents and material that he’s not going to want to turn over.”

Abrams shared his take hours after Patel’s lawyers accused The Atlantic and Fitzpatrick of publishing “a sweeping, malicious, and defamatory hit piece” and claimed that the allegations in the article were “false,” “obviously fabricated,” and “designed to destroy Director Patel’s reputation and drive him from office.”

The April 17 article was titled, “The FBI Director Is MIA.” Fitzpatrick wrote “more than two dozen” unnamed “witnesses” claimed Patel had been engaged in “bouts of excessive drinking” and “unexplained absences,” which “often alarmed officials at the FBI and the Department of Justice.”

“Several officials told me that Patel’s drinking has been a recurring source of concern across the government. They said that he is known to drink to the point of obvious intoxication,” the report continued.“Early in his tenure, meetings and briefings had to be rescheduled for later in the day as a result of his alcohol-fueled nights, six current and former officials and others familiar with Patel’s schedule told me.”

Abrams read from the report on Monday, including sections where colleagues said they believed Patel is a threat to public safety and is often unreachable.

Those particular sections were the only ones, in the Mediaite founder’s view, where Patel could even conceivably have a claim. However, Abrams believes The Atlantic has multiple sources telling them they believe Patel is a threat to public safety and unreachable — meaning they would have accurately reported what those sources told them.

“I’m sure that they have sources on them feeling that way…  so that’s fact,” Abrams said. “That’s not a take, it’s not a feeling.”

He added that Patel seemingly picked the $250 million figure out of a hat. He then did an impression of Dr. Evil, saying Patel resembled the iconic villain from Austin Powers by throwing out an absurd amount.

But he said the lawsuit is a “win-win” for Patel, because he gets to tell President Donald Trump he is going after a mainstream outlet for publishing what he deems to be fake news.

Watch above.

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