FBI Director Kash Patel is under fire again after reports emerged about two previous arrests on public intoxication and public urination charges, which were detailed in a previously disclosed legal filing.According to a report by The Intercept, Patel admitted to these incidents in a 2005 Florida Bar disclosure statement he filed during his early legal career.
The document has received new attention after recent media coverage about alleged drinking issues.The first incident occurred in 2001 when Patel was a student at the University of Richmond. It included being escorted out of a basketball game by campus police. He said he was drunk at the time.“When I left the square, the officer arrested me for public drunkenness, as I was not yet 21 years old,” he wrote.The second arrest took place later, while he was studying at Pace University School of Law. Patel described going out with friends and drinking at local bars before the incident.“We went to a few local bars and had some alcoholic beverages… and in a blatant deviation from appropriate behaviour, we attempted to empty our bladders on the way home,” he wrote. “Before we could do that, a police car stopped the group.
He added: “Then we were arrested on charges of public urination.”Patel added that the events were out of the ordinary and asked that they be viewed in the context of his general behaviour.“Both incidents do not represent my usual behavior,” Patel continued.He added: “I hope the board views them as an anomaly. I apologize twice for my inappropriate behavior to both the board and the community at large.”These incidents date back more than two decades, and were revealed at the time.The re-exposure comes amid a report by The Atlantic magazine detailing Patel’s alleged drinking habits. The journalist behind the original report defended her story, saying she had received additional confirmation from sources at high levels of government.Journalist Sarah Fitzpatrick wrote the report claiming Cash Patel showed signs of heavy drinking and erratic behavior based on more than two dozen anonymous sources from in and around the US government. The story claims that officials observed “visible drunkenness and unexplained absences”, and raised concerns about his availability and performance in sensitive roles, with some sources alleging instances in which he was unreachable or unresponsive during work periods, and even missed important meetings.
Patel has denied all the allegations, calling them false and politically motivated, and has filed a $250 million defamation suit against The Atlantic, while the newspaper maintains its reporting and says it stands by its story.
