The FBI said that agency director Kash Patel “followed all applicable ethical guidelines” after a report in the Atlantic alleged that he distributed customized bourbon whiskey bottles as gifts.
In an article published on Wednesday, the Atlantic described Patel as travelling with a stock of “personalized branded bourbon” that he allegedly hands out frequently to people around him.
The report says the bottles feature the branding of the Kentucky distillery Woodford Reserve and are engraved with the phrase “Kash Patel FBI Director”, along with an image of an FBI shield. Around the shield is text that includes Patel’s title and his preferred stylization of his first name: Ka$h. The shield is held by an eagle clutching the number nine, probably referring to Patel’s position in the sequence of FBI directors.
Ben Williamson, the FBI’s assistant director, said in a statement to the Guardian: “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.
“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 statement added.
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 has given out these customized whiskey bottles to FBI personnel and civilians he has 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 source added: “Director Patel has never consumed the alcohol.”
The Atlantic article claimed Patel distributed the bottles while conducting official duties, including at least one FBI function. It also alleges that he and his staff transported the whiskey onboard a justice department aircraft, including on a February trip to Milan during the Olympics. During that same trip, Patel was recorded drinking beer with the US men’s hockey team after their gold medal victory, conduct that officials reportedly said displeased Donald Trump.
The latest allegations come after another Atlantic report published last month that described Patel’s alleged excessive alcohol consumption and claimed members of his security team had, on multiple occasions, struggled to wake him. Patel denied those claims and shortly afterward followed through on a previous threat to sue both the publication and the article’s author, Sarah Fitzpatrick.
In the lawsuit, filed in US district court for the District of Columbia, Patel’s attorneys accused the magazine and reporter of releasing “a sweeping, malicious and defamatory hit piece” and are seeking $250m in damages.
Patel has also been accused of targeting other news outlets. The New York Times reported that the FBI investigated one of their reporters, Elizabeth Williamson, after she wrote a piece that raised concerns about the security arrangements surrounding Patel’s girlfriend, the country singer Alexis Wilkins.