Democrats demand FBI Director Patel submit alcohol screening following media reports of excessive drinking

WASHINGTON (CN) — A group of House Democrats on Tuesday seized on media reports about FBI Director Kash Patel's drinking habits, demanding that the top federal law enforcement official take a ten-question alcohol abuse survey and submit his results to Congress.

It's a pile-on from Democrats which comes as Patel filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic for its reporting on what it called the FBI director's "excessive drinking and unexplained absences," which the publication said was based on interviews with more than two dozen current and former government employees and other sources.

Writing in a letter to Patel dated Tuesday, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee pointed to The Atlantic's "damning and explosive" report and cited the now-infamous video of the FBI director drinking beer with the U.S. men's hockey team during this year's Winter Olympics.

"These glimpses of your relationship to alcohol would be alarming to see in an FBI agent; for us to see them in the FBI Director himself is shocking and indicative of a public emergency," said the lawmakers, led by Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin.

The Democrats requested Patel fill out an Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, or AUDIT, a globally standardized exam designed to determine whether someone exhibits a harmful pattern of alcohol use.

The ten-question AUDIT screening asks subjects questions such as "How often do you have six or more drinks on one occasion?" and "During the past year, how often have you failed to do what was normally expected of you because of drinking?" According to the World Health Organization, the exam is the world's most widely used alcohol abuse screening — and while it's typically used by medical professionals, it can be self-administered.

The Judiciary Committee Democrats demanded Patel take the AUDIT exam, as well as a sworn statement attesting to the accuracy of his answers by next week. The lawmakers also requested all security clearance questionnaires the FBI director has completed.

And in a follow-on letter to Ohio Representative Jim Jordan, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, the Democrats urged the top Republican lawmaker to give their requests a boost.

"Given the severity of the national security risks associated with these issues, we request that you make clear to Director Patel that if he fails to provide the requested information by next week's deadline, the Committee will be requiring him to appear at a hearing in person and under oath to address Members' well-founded concerns," the Democrats said.

The Justice Department did not return a request for comment.

While it's unlikely that Patel will voluntarily complete an alcohol screening questionnaire offered by congressional Democrats, the FBI director has forcefully rejected reports about his alcohol consumption. During a news conference Tuesday, Patel reiterated that he has "never been intoxicated on the job."

"I'm the first one in, I'm the last one out," said the top law enforcement official. "I'm like an everyday American who loves his country, loves the sport of hockey, and champions my friends when they raise a gold medal and invite me to celebrate."

And Patel nodded to his $250 million lawsuit against The Atlantic. "Any one of you who wants to participate, bring it on, I'll see you in court," he told reporters.

The FBI director has accused The Atlantic and reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick of falsely claiming he is a "habitual drunk" and that he's unable to perform his duties or otherwise violated the Justice Department's ethics code. Among other things, his lawsuit in D.C. federal court rejects reporting that FBI officials on one occasion had to request "breaching equipment" because Patel was unresponsive behind a locked door.

Patel has claimed Fitzpatrick acted with "actual malice," the high legal standard required in defamation lawsuits. The Atlantic has said it stands by its reporting.

Congressional Democrats have long been critical of Patel's leadership of the FBI, arguing he's abused his position for personal benefit. The top Trump administration official, who worked as an adviser during the president's first administration, has been accused of using FBI aircraft for non-official travel, such as a trip to a wrestling match in Pennsylvania and an excursion to a hunting resort in Texas.

Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin said in February he'd received a "credible" whistleblower complaint, which said Patel's use of government jets caused a plane and pilot shortage that hampered the FBI's investigation of conservative activist Charlie Kirk's assassination last year.

Patel has similarly contested those assertions.