Kash Patel
Judge Throws Out ‘Nightclub’ Dig Defamation Suit
Published
It’s not looking good for Kash Patel — because a federal judge just tossed out his defamation lawsuit against former FBI official Frank Figliuzzi.
MAY 2025
Figliuzzi — the former assistant director for Counterintelligence at the FBI — had quipped on the MS NOW show “Morning Joe” last year that the FBI director had been “visible at nightclubs far more than he has been on the seventh floor” of FBI HQ in D.C. … but U.S. District Court Judge George Hanks Jr. wasn’t buying it as fact.
Instead, he ruled Tuesday the remark was “rhetorical hyperbole” … meaning no reasonable person would take it literally.
Judge Hanks added Patel “failed to state a claim,” and the lawsuit had to go, CNBC reports.
One small win for Figliuzzi — but not a full sweep. The judge denied his request to recover attorney fees under Texas’ anti-SLAPP law, which is meant to protect free speech.
Worth noting — this isn’t Patel’s only legal fight. He also just filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic magazine over a bombshell report accusing him of heavy drinking and paranoid behavior.