FBI probing journalist who exposed Kash Patel's drinking; New report says he handed out branded bourbon on duty

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has reportedly opened what MS NOW describe as a highly unusual criminal leak inquiry into the reporter who first exposed concerns about the FBI director's alcohol consumption, even as a second investigation reveals Kash Patel has been travelling with custom-branded Woodford Reserve whiskey engraved with his name and title.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has reportedly launched a criminal leak inquiry targeting Sarah Fitzpatrick, the Atlantic journalist whose reporting on FBI Director Kash Patel's drinking habits and erratic conduct set off a chain of legal and institutional confrontations, two people with direct knowledge of the matter have confirmed to MS NOW.

FBI Opens Insider Threat Investigation Into Atlantic Reporter

The inquiry is being described by the MS NOW report as a significant departure from how leak investigations are normally conducted in the US. Such probes have historically targeted government officials suspected of releasing classified or state-secret material, with journalists drawn in only as potential witnesses. This case involves no allegation of classified information being disclosed.

The investigation is focused instead on the journalist who received and published the information.

The agents conducting the inquiry belong to an insider threats unit based in Huntsville, Alabama, the officials said. The unit's standard remit covers employees who may pose risks from within an organisation, not reporters acting in the course of newsgathering.

The investigation could grant agents the authority to obtain Fitzpatrick's phone records, run her details through FBI databases and examine her social media connections. What specific steps have already been taken remains unclear.

The MS NOW report said there is considerable unease among FBI agents assigned to the matter, with both declining and complying seen as carrying serious professional risk.

"They know they are not supposed to do this," one source said. "But if they don't go forward, they could lose their jobs. You're damned if you do and damned if you don't."

FBI Denies Any Investigation Exists

The FBI has flatly denied the inquiry. Spokesperson Ben Williamson, said: "This is completely false. No such investigation like this exists and the reporter you mention is not being investigated at all."

"Every time there's a publication of false claims by anonymous sources that gets called out, the media plays the victim via investigations that do not exist," Williamson added.

The Atlantic's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, issued a firm response.

"We will have further comment when we learn more. If true, this would be an outrageous, illegal, and dangerous attack on the free press and the First Amendment. We will defend Sarah and all of our reporters who are subjected to government harassment simply for pursuing the truth," Goldberg said.

What Fitzpatrick's Original Reporting Revealed

Fitzpatrick's initial The Atlantic article drew on approximately two dozen anonymous officials and reported that Kash Patel's alcohol consumption had generated serious concern among FBI personnel. She reported that Patel was known to drink to the point of intoxication and that his security detail had on occasion encountered difficulty waking him in the morning.

Kash Patel filed a defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic shortly after publication, alleging the reporting contained falsehoods. The magazine and Fitzpatrick both stood by the story, stating they had received additional corroboration following publication.

New Report: Patel's Personalised Bourbon Bottles Distributed on Official Duties

A subsequent investigation by The Atlantic has added further detail to the picture of Patel's relationship with alcohol. According to eight people, including current and former FBI and Department of Justice employees and others familiar with the matter, Patel has distributed personalised branded bourbon bottles to bureau staff as well as civilians he meets during official duties. Most spoke under conditions of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal.

The bottles bear the imprint of Kentucky distillery Woodford Reserve and are engraved with the words "Kash Patel FBI Director," alongside a rendering of an FBI shield. A band of text encircles the shield featuring his director title and his preferred stylised spelling of his first name: Ka$h. An eagle holds the shield in its talons, along with the number 9, understood to be a reference to Patel's place in the sequence of FBI directors. Some of the 750-millilitre bottles also carry Patel's signature and the notation "#9."

One such bottle appeared on an online auction site shortly after Fitzpatrick's original story was published. The Atlantic later purchased it. The seller, who declined to be named, stated it was a gift from Kash Patel at an event in Las Vegas.

Government Aircraft Used to Transport Whiskey

Kash Patel and members of his team have reportedly transported the whiskey aboard a Department of Justice aircraft, including during a trip to Milan for the Winter Olympics in February. One bottle was reported to have been left behind in a locker room during that visit, according to a person who was present and reviewed a photograph of the bottle.

During the same trip, Kash Patel was filmed drinking beer with the gold-medal-winning US men's hockey team, conduct that officials have said was poorly received by President Donald Trump, who does not drink. Patel defended the moment at the time, characterising it as a celebration with his "friends" on the hockey team. His use of DOJ aircraft to transport cases of alcohol has since been a subject of discussion among FBI staff.

Kash Patel has also distributed his self-branded bottles during at least one official FBI event, the officials in the know said.

A Pattern of FBI Actions Against Journalists

The investigation into Fitzpatrick sits within a broader pattern of bureau scrutiny directed at journalists covering Kash Patel and the FBI.

Last month, The New York Times reported that the FBI had opened an inquiry into one of its reporters over alleged violations of stalking laws following a story about a security detail assigned to Patel's girlfriend. The FBI subsequently told the paper that while it found the reporter's methods "aggressive," it was not pursuing a formal case.

In January, the FBI carried out a court-authorised search, described as unprecedented, of the home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson. Agents seized two computers, a recorder, a Garmin watch, a phone and a portable hard drive.

Natanson was not the subject of the underlying investigation, which centres on a systems administrator with a top-secret security clearance charged with unlawfully obtaining and transmitting classified material. Two federal judges have since blocked the government from examining her seized devices. On Monday, Natanson was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for her reporting on mass federal job cuts carried out under DOGE.

Separately, the FBI opened an internal inquiry after former NBC News contributor Frank Figliuzzi made public remarks about Patel's alleged socialising and work habits on "Morning Joe." A defamation lawsuit Patel filed against Figliuzzi was subsequently dismissed by a judge who ruled the comments constituted hyperbole.