FBI Director Kash Patel denies drinking allegations in heated US Senate exchange

FBI Director Kash Patel angrily lashed out at a Democratic lawmaker at a budget hearing Tuesday, calling allegations that he drinks excessively on the job and has been unreachable to his staff at times “unequivocally, categorically false”.“I will not be tarnished by baseless allegations and fraudulent statements to the media,” Patel told Senator Chris Van Hollen during a testy exchange that began when the Maryland Democrat confronted him about a recent article in The Atlantic magazine that painted an unflattering portrait of his leadership of the nation’s premier federal law enforcement agency.Patel has sued over the story. The Atlantic has said it stands by its reporting and would vigorously defend against the “meritless lawsuit”.