{"id":210568,"date":"2026-05-13T12:27:55","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T12:27:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/kash-patel-denies-excessive-drinking-allegations-as-total-farce-in-senate-hearing-the-guardian\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T12:27:55","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T12:27:55","slug":"kash-patel-denies-excessive-drinking-allegations-as-total-farce-in-senate-hearing-the-guardian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/kash-patel-denies-excessive-drinking-allegations-as-total-farce-in-senate-hearing-the-guardian\/","title":{"rendered":"Kash Patel denies excessive drinking allegations as \u2018total farce\u2019 in Senate hearing – The Guardian"},"content":{"rendered":"

FBI director also dismisses allegations of unexplained absences as Democrats challenge him over Atlantic report
US politics live \u2013 latest updates<\/a>
Embattled FBI<\/a> director Kash Patel has denied under oath recent allegations of excessive drinking and unexplained absences on the job, dismissing them as \u201cbaseless\u201d during a fiery congressional hearing.
Democrats challenged him over the \u201cextremely alarming\u201d reports, first reported<\/a> in the Atlantic mid-April, which they argued would amount to a \u201cgross dereliction\u201d of duty. The FBI director has sued the magazine<\/a>, and the author of a story it published<\/a>, filing a defamation lawsuit in US district court for the District of Columbia that seeks $250m in damages.
In his opening remarks, Chris Van Hollen, ranking member of the Senate appropriations committee, said: \u201cWhat we are learning about what\u2019s happening at the FBI<\/a> is anything but normal. When your private actions make it impossible for you to perform your public duties, we have a big problem \u2026 these reports about your conduct, including reports you\u2019re being so drunk and hungover that your staff had to force entry into your home are extremely alarming, if true, they demonstrate a gross dereliction of your duty and a betrayal of public trust.\u201d
\u201cIt\u2019s a total farce. I don\u2019t even know where you get this stuff,\u201d Patel told Chris Van Hollen, ranking member of the Senate appropriations subcommittee, after he asked about the claims reported by the Atlantic. \u201cI will not be tarnished by baseless allegations.\u201d
When Van Hollen asked if Patel would be willing to take a test to determine whether he has a drinking problem, the FBI director snapped that he would \u2013 provided the senator would take it alongside him.
Patel attempted to turn the tables on Van Hollen, alleging that the Maryland senator had been caught on camera drinking \u201cmargaritas in El Salvador on the taxpayer dollar\u201d, a reference to photographs Van Hollen has credibly described as a hoax<\/a> staged by an aide to El Salvador\u2019s far-right president, Nayib Bukele.
Patel then claimed that documents filed by the senator\u2019s office showed that Van Hollen \u201cran up a $7,000 bar tab in Washington DC at the Lobby Bar\u201d.
\u201cThe only individual in this room that has been drinking on taxpayer dime during the day is you,\u201d Patel shouted.
A Van Hollen spokesperson told the Guardian that the FBI director\u2019s claim was a distortion of publicly available information, in the form of the senator\u2019s most recent Federal Election Commission campaign spending report<\/a>, which showed that he spent that money on event catering at the bar, which also offers a full dinner menu<\/a>, on 12 December 2025.
The $7,128 payment to the Lobby Bar, the senator\u2019s office explained, \u201cwas a catering charge at a local restaurant where the Senator hosted an after-hours holiday reception as a thank you to the 50+ members of our team, paid for by campaign funds \u2013 not taxpayer dollars\u201d.
The Atlantic had reported that Patel\u2019s alcohol consumption had become \u201ca recurring source of concern across the government\u201d, citing interviews with more than two dozen people, including current and former FBI officials. The most serious allegations include that his security detail on at least one occasion struggled to rouse him because he appeared intoxicated, and that agents had sought \u201cSwat-level breaching equipment\u201d to gain access to a room where he was unresponsive.
Patel has forcefully denied the allegations. \u201cPrint it, all false, I\u2019ll see you in court \u2013 bring your checkbook,\u201d he told the magazine. The Atlantic has said it stands by its allegations.
On Tuesday, Patel also denied personally ordering polygraph tests to determine leaks to the press. This comes after the FBI said last year that it begun the process of using polygraph tests<\/a> to aid investigations aimed at identifying the source of leaks emanating from within the law enforcement agency.
He also said that no FBI resources have been used to investigate the negative press about him or his handling of the agency, while answering questions from Patty Murray, the Democratic vice-chair of the Senate appropriations committee.
\u201cI am deeply concerned about the reports that your leadership has not been serious,\u201d Murray said, while repeating allegations of Patel\u2019s behavior while on the job. \u201cYour job is to be reachable \u2026 if you want to pass out liquor or pop bottles in a locker room, stick to podcasting. Leave law and order to people who really do care about justice and appearances.\u201d
Earlier this year, Patel faced criticism<\/a> after<\/a> a ProPublica reporter shared a video the FBI director chugging a bottle and spraying beer in a locker room with the men\u2019s USA hockey team in Milan, following their gold medal victory against Canada at the Winter Olympics.<\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FBI director also dismisses allegations of unexplained absences as Democrats challenge him over Atlantic reportUS politics live \u2013 latest updatesEmbattled FBI director Kash Patel has denied under oath recent allegations of excessive drinking and unexplained absences on the job, dismissing them as \u201cbaseless\u201d during a fiery congressional hearing.Democrats challenged him over the \u201cextremely alarming\u201d reports, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":210569,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-210568","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-us","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=210568"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210568\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/210569"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=210568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=210568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=210568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}