Kash Patel’s customised whiskey bottles trigger controversy, FBI issues defence

In a statement to The Guardian, FBI assistant director Ben Williamson said: “The Atlantic’s premise is false and misleading. The bottles in question are part of a common practice in the FBI that started well over a decade ago, long before Director Patel arrived.”

The statement further said: “Senior Bureau officials have long exchanged commemorative items in formal gift settings consistent with ethics rules. Director Patel has followed all applicable ethical guidelines and pays for any personal gift himself.”

According to eight individuals interviewed by The Atlantic, including current and former FBI and Department of Justice officials, as well as others familiar with the practice, Patel distributed the customised whiskey bottles to FBI personnel and civilians he met through his work.

A senior FBI source told The Guardian: “Any bottle provided in an official capacity was part of that type of formal gift exchange. If Director Patel ever provided one as a personal gift, he reimbursed the Bureau.”

The Atlantic report further alleged that Patel and his staff transported the whiskey aboard a Justice Department aircraft, including during a February trip to Milan for the Olympics. During the same trip, Patel was reportedly seen drinking beer with the US men’s hockey team after their gold medal victory, conduct that officials allegedly said displeased Donald Trump.

The latest allegations come after another Atlantic report published last month accused Patel of excessive alcohol consumption and claimed members of his security team had, on multiple occasions, struggled to wake him. Patel denied the allegations and later filed a lawsuit against the publication and the article’s author, Sarah Fitzpatrick.

In the lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, Patel’s attorneys accused the magazine and reporter of publishing “a sweeping, malicious and defamatory hit piece” and sought $250 million in damages.