Donald Trump’s FBI director is suing over a critical article. He has a tough legal standard to meet.
Before he filed his defamation lawsuit on Monday against The Atlantic, FBI Director Kash Patel said he had a claim that “some would call a legal lay up.”
It’s unclear who would call it that. But in any event, it’s unlikely that Patel will have as easy a time in court as he suggested.
His suit stems from a damning report published Friday that was written by Sarah Fitzpatrick. She is also named as a defendant in Patel’s complaint, which describes the report as a “sweeping, malicious, and defamatory hit piece.”
The really interesting thing is that Patel directly references the “actual malice” standard, which as the article points out, is very very difficult for him to meet as a public figure plaintiff.
The reason why it’s interesting is that he is demonstrating he’s aware of the heightened standard (which he clearly cannot meet), which helps show he is himself acting in bad faith, and that could help the Atlantic recover legal costs for Patel’s frivolous SLAPP lawsuit.