Kash Patel Reportedly Thought Trump Fired Him Last Week and Had a Total ‘Freak-Out’

Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via AP Images

Last week, FBI Director Kash Patel was convinced that President Donald Trump had fired him after he was unable to access the bureau’s internal computer system, The Atlantic reported on Friday.

Patel was so convinced he had been terminated, he hurriedly called FBI staff and informed them he had been fired. News of the apparent personnel move quickly made its way through the FBI and Congress, and bureau employees and members of Congress phoned the White House to ask who was leading the nation’s top law enforcement agency:

On Friday, April 10, as FBI Director Kash Patel was preparing to leave work for the weekend, he struggled to log into an internal computer system. He quickly became convinced that he had been locked out, and he panicked, frantically calling aides and allies to announce that he had been fired by the White House, according to nine people familiar with his outreach. Two of these people described his behavior as a “freak-out.”

Patel oversees an agency that employs roughly 38,000 people, including many who are trained to investigate and verify information that can be presented under oath in a court of law. News of his emotional outburst ricocheted through the bureau, prompting chatter among officials and, in some corners of the building, expressions of relief. The White House fielded calls from the bureau and from members of Congress asking who was now in charge of the FBI.

Patel is still in charge of the FBI, of course, but is reportedly concerned about his job security. Earlier this month, The Atlantic reported that Patel is one of several administration officials who could be on the chopping block.

Friday’s Atlantic story also stated that Patel has drunk “to the point of obvious intoxication” in public, often at Ned’s in Washington, D.C., and at the Poodle Room in Las Vegas, where he lives. On occasion, the FBI has even reportedly had to reschedule meetings “as a result of his alcohol-fueled nights, six current and former officials and others familiar with Patel’s schedule” told The Atlantic.

In some cases, the director’s FBI security detail had difficulty waking him because he was so drunk. In one incident, the FBI had to use “breaching equipment” of the sort SWAT teams use:

On multiple occasions in the past year, members of his security detail had difficulty waking Patel because he was seemingly intoxicated, according to information supplied to Justice Department and White House officials. A request for “breaching equipment”—normally used by SWAT and hostage-rescue teams to quickly gain entry into buildings—was made last year because Patel had been unreachable behind locked doors, according to multiple people familiar with the request.

The report mentioned Patel’s appearance in the U.S. men’s hockey team locker room after its win over Canada in the Olympic gold medal game in Italy. Patel was captured on camera chugging a beer. The scene reportedly prompted Trump to let Patel know he was unhappy with the director’s behavior.

In response, Erica Knight, an FBI media adviser, said the reporting is “fabricated” and added, “Lawsuit is being filed.”

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