FBI director Kash Patel filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic and reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick on Monday, alleging that the magazine had published “statements with actual malice” in a new profile that “falsely asserts” he is a “habitual drunk, unable to perform the duties of his office, is a threat to public safety, is vulnerable to foreign coercion, has violated DoJ ethics rules, is unreachable in emergencies, has required the deployment of ‘breaching equipment’ to extract him from locked rooms, allows alcohol to influence his public statements about criminal investigations, and behaves erratically in a manner that compromises national security.”

Putting aside the malicious defamation claim, that’s actually a pretty good summary of the eye-opening revelations in Fitzpatrick’s article, which came out on Friday and was based on conversations with more than two-dozen sources. Patel had, through an FBI statement to The Atlantic, warned he would sue: “Print it, all false, I’ll see you in court — bring your checkbook.” Maybe the only surprise is that he didn’t ask for $1 billion in damages, which is what Donald Trump would have done.

The article’s claims add to his previously known scandalous behavior — like Patel’s random appearance in the U.S. hockey team’s locker-room celebration at the Olympics; his embarrassing false announcements during manhunts; his alleged use of the FBI jet for personal travel; and his alleged misuse of FBI security for his girlfriend. Let’s go through the new stuff in a little more detail.

. He gets wasted a lot.

According to FBI and DoJ officials who spoke with Fitzpatrick, Patel likes to drink heavily (and in full view of other administration officials) at the........

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