With acting AG at his side, FBI Director Patel publicly addresses allegations about his conduct

By Holmes Lybrand, CNN

(CNN) — FBI Director Kash Patel, standing at a lectern beside his boss Tuesday, publicly addressed recent allegations that he has drank to excess, interfering with his duties.

“I’ve never been intoxicated on the job,” Patel told a room full of reporters Tuesday, after highlighting what he considers to be a string of law enforcement successes since the start of his tenure.

“This FBI director has been on the job twice as many days as every director before me,” Patel said.

Standing beside him, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche — whom Patel now reports to — also ridiculed recent reporting in The Atlantic, which said people had previously raised concerns with senior leaders about the FBI director.

Blanche told reporters he didn’t read the story, but that it included “blatantly false” information.

Patel has previously denied the allegations made in The Atlantic’s story and filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against the magazine.

On Tuesday, though, he and Blanche were probed on the claims by a room full of reporters at an unrelated press conference.

The story, published last week, alleged Patel “alarmed colleagues with episodes of excessive drinking and unexplained absences.”

Patel said Tuesday he never listens “to the fake news mafia.”

“My concerns are completely around the anonymous reporting that comes forth constantly,” Blanche said about the article, adding that it was “based on anonymous sources.”

The Atlantic has defended the work of reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick, who wrote the story.

“We stand by our reporting on Kash Patel, and we will vigorously defend The Atlantic and our journalists against this meritless lawsuit,” a spokesperson said Monday when the lawsuit was filed.

Fitzpatrick responded to the legal threats in an interview with MS NOW on Friday night, saying she stood “by every word of this reporting. We have excellent attorneys.”

The press conference Tuesday was held to tout the indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center over its alleged use of paid informants in extremist groups.

This story has been updated with additional details.

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