Last month, the Atlantic dropped an exceptionally well-sourced article about FBI Director Kash Patel. According to FBI and DOJ sources, Patel drinks to excess constantly, and it’s seen as a huge problem within the FBI and outside of the FBI. He’s also paranoid and stupid. How stupid? He sued the Atlantic for $250 million, claiming that the story was false and defamatory. And yet… he ordered FBI agents to investigate the Atlantic’s Sarah Fitzpatrick, the journalist who wrote the stories. If all of Fitzpatrick’s stories are false, why are you investigating her or her FBI sources? Well, soon after the news about the FBI probing Fitzpatrick, she had another huge exclusive in the Atlantic. Apparently, Kash Patel created his own Patel-branded bourbon, which he passes out to civilians and work colleagues. It’s all part of the way he’s “merching” the FBI.
President Trump’s FBI director has a great deal of affection for swag. Merchandise for sale on a website he co-founded—still operating, nearly 15 months into his term—includes beanies ($35), T-shirts ($35), orange camo hoodies ($65), trucker caps ($25), “government gangsters” playing cards (on sale for $10), and a fight with kash Punisher scarf ($25). One thing not for sale is liquor, because liquor is something Patel gives away for free.
Last month, I reported that FBI personnel were alarmed by what they said was erratic behavior and excessive drinking by Patel. (The FBI director has denied the allegations and filed a defamation suit against The Atlantic and me.)
After my story appeared, I heard from people in Patel’s orbit and people he has met at public functions, who told me that it is not unusual for him to travel with a supply of personalized branded bourbon. The bottles bear the imprint of the Kentucky distillery Woodford Reserve, and are engraved with the words “kash patel fbi director,” as well as a rendering of an FBI shield. Surrounding the shield is a band of text featuring Patel’s director title and his favored spelling of his first name: ka$h. An eagle holds the shield in its talons, along with the number 9, presumably a reference to Patel’s place in the history of FBI directors. In some cases, the 750-milliliter bottles bear Patel’s signature, with “#9” there as well. One such bottle popped up on an online auction site shortly after my story appeared, and The Atlantic later purchased it. (The person who sold it to us did not want to be named, but said that the bottle was a gift from Patel at an event in Las Vegas.)
Patel has given out bottles of his personalized whiskey to FBI staff as well as civilians he encounters in his duties, according to eight people, including current and former FBI and Department of Justice employees and others who are familiar with Patel’s distribution of the bottles. Most of them spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal.
Patel has distributed his self-branded bottles while on official business, including during at least one FBI event. He and his team have transported the whiskey using a DOJ plane, including when he went to Milan during the Olympics in February. One of the bottles was left behind in a locker room, according to a person who was there. (I reviewed a photograph of the bottle.) On the same trip, Patel was filmed drinking beer with the gold-medal-winning U.S. men’s hockey team—behavior that officials have said did not sit well with the teetotaling president. Patel defended himself at the time, saying he was just celebrating with his “friends” on the hockey team. Patel’s use of DOJ aircraft to transport cases of alcohol has been the subject of discussion among FBI staff.
The FBI did not dispute that Patel gives out bottles of whiskey inscribed with his name, but in response to a detailed list of questions, a spokesperson portrayed the gifts as routine within the FBI and the broader government. He added that “the bottles in question are part of a tradition in the FBI that started well over a decade ago, long before Director Patel arrived. 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.”
The spokesperson declined to clarify which ethical rules Patel was following, when the bottles were engraved with Patel’s name, or whether any bottles had actually been reimbursed as personal gifts. The FBI also declined to provide images of bottles bearing the names of past directors. When I reached a former longtime senior FBI official to ask whether he’d ever seen personally branded liquor bottles distributed by a previous FBI director, he burst out laughing.
Generally, senior federal officials can create and hand out “challenge coins” to friends, supporters, veterans and visitors. Presidential challenge coins are extremely popular, but other Cabinet-level officials might have their own challenge coins. This is something else entirely – the FBI Director lugging around a case of bourbon so he can hand out personalized “Kash Patel-branded” bottles to complete strangers? It’s not just an ethical dilemma, it’s tacky as f–k. Incidentally, Patel did design challenge coins. The coins have the “Punisher” symbol on them.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.
