Politics
Kash Patel denies claim he’s paranoid & drunk on the job
Kash Patel — Clearly, people who are suffering from alcoholism and poor mental health should receive support. Part of this help should be ensuring they’re not actively in charge of law enforcement agencies.
And yet:
“On multiple occasions” Kash Patel has reportedly gotten so drunk that the FBI couldn’t wake him, and at least once considered smashing down his front door to make sure he was still alive, according to this new story. https://t.co/SKrbIWYpUX pic.twitter.com/oWVeFs1VHR
— Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (@ReichlinMelnick) April 17, 2026
Kash Patel has now responded to the claims made against him.
You may be unsurprised to discover his response has reassured precisely no one.
Febrile Bottle Inspector
The article from the Atlantic contained revelations like the following:
In 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 would later turn out that a simple technical error had locked Patel out. This was something he could have confirmed himself if he hadn’t gone all Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas.
I’m going to be completely real and admit that I did once react to being locked out of my work computer by freaking out and assuming I’d been fired. This, of course, is why I’m not pursuing a senior administrative position within the FBI. That and all the terrible stuff they do (more on that in a bit).
The Atlantic also reported:
The IT-lockout episode is emblematic of Patel’s tumultuous tenure as director of the FBI: He is erratic, suspicious of others, and prone to jumping to conclusions before he has necessary evidence, according to the more than two dozen
People are saying that “jumping to conclusions before he has necessary evidence” should rule him out of an FBI position; clearly those people are unfamiliar with the work this agency does.
The Atlantic added:
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, in many cases at the private club Ned’s in Washington, D.C., while in the presence of White House and other administration staff. He is also known to drink to excess at the Poodle Room, in Las Vegas, where he frequently spends parts of his weekends. 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.
No wonder he’s paranoid if he’s got the beer fear.
Simultaneously, it’s no wonder he needs to drink if he’s anxious all the time.
It’s a vicious circle, and one which won’t find remedy as long he’s in such a high-pressure position.
Kash Patel — Response and perspective
Memo to the fake news – the only time I’ll ever actually be concerned about the hit piece lies you write about me will be when you stop. Keep talking, it means I’m doing exactly what I should be doing. And no amount of BS you write will ever deter this FBI from making America
Many responded in turn with images of Patel celebrating with the American Winter Olympic hockey team:
Yeah whatever you say bro https://t.co/76kYNXUwlS pic.twitter.com/T0uhbKmlYE
— Wu Tang is for the Children (@WUTangKids) April 18, 2026
Patel also revealed new information in responding to the claims:
Amazing https://t.co/DSQSzwu7XJ pic.twitter.com/qKBKeWCslI
— nikki mccann ramírez (@NikkiMcR) April 18, 2026
The question is this: is Patel is really not good enough for the FBI?
The actual FBI
In an article titled “How the FBI Created a Terrorist”, the Intercept wrote about how the FBI targeted a Muslim man with a schizoaffective disorder:
FBI employees talked about how Osmakac didn’t have any money, how he thought the U.S. spy satellites were watching him, and how he had no concept of what weapons cost on the black market.
The source of their amusement was also their primary source of concern. Osmakac was, in the FBI’s own words, “a retarded fool” who didn’t have any capacity to plan and execute an attack on his own. That was a challenge for the FBI.
The piece additionally reported:
In constructing the sting, FBI agents were in communication with prosecutors at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, the transcripts show. The prosecutors needed the FBI to show Osmakac giving Amir Jones money for the weapons. Over several conversations, the FBI agents struggled to create a situation that would allow the penniless Osmakac to hand cash to the undercover agent.
“How do we come up with enough money for them to pay for everything?” asks FBI Special Agent Taylor Reed in one recording.
“Right now, we have money issues,” Amir admits in a separate conversation.
Their advantage was that Dabus, the informant, had given Osmakac a job. If they could get Dabus to pay Osmakac, and then make sure Osmakac used his paycheck to make a payment toward the weapons, the agents could satisfy the Justice Department. “Once he gives it to him, it’s his money, whether we orchestrated it or not,” Reed says.
Reading all that, you could wonder if it’s better for the FBI to be less efficient?
The reason it probably isn’t is that they’ll still do all the same reprehensible shit; they’ll just suffer fewer consequences, because no one in charge cares anymore.
Either way, Patel needs to be given the boot ASAP.
If you think he’s paranoid now, just wait until he finds out about the X-Files.
Featured image via Gage Skidmore (Wikimedia)
By Willem Moore
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