Trump Officials Are ‘Openly Discussing’ Kash Patel’s Replacement as FBI Director: Report

The Atlantic reporter who broke a wild story about FBI Director Kash Patel said senior officials in the Trump administration are “openly discussing” his successor.

On Friday, the publication ran a piece by Sarah Fitzpatrick, who reported that last week, Patel believed he had been fired by President Donald Trump after he was locked out of an FBI computer system:

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.”

It turned out the lockout was due to a technical issue, according to two people familiar with the matter. The report also alleges that Patel has been intoxicated in public on multiple occasions, and said the director’s security detail has had difficulty waking him at times because he was too drunk. In one incident, the security detail reportedly needed SWAT team “breaching equipment” to enter his room.

A spokesperson for the FBI called the report “fabricated” and said a lawsuit is being filed.

Shortly after the story ran, Fitzpatrick, who earlier this month reported that Patel was at risk of losing his job, appeared on CNN to discuss her story.

“Based on what you’re hearing, is your understanding that that is still the case?” Boris Sanchez asked.

“So, people close to the director have said that he himself has expressed that he believes that he is about to be fired or that is imminent,” Fitzpatrick replied, before adding that top administration officials are already discussing who will replace Patel.

“So, yes, this is widely, widely discussed, I think, within Washington, behind closed doors,” she added. “In fact, there are senior administration officials who are openly discussing who will be the next FBI director.”

“Wow,” Sanchez replied.

Watch above via CNN.

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