On The Briefing with Jen Psaki, on April 17, 2026, Jen Psaki asked her guest Sarah Fitzpatrick of The Atlantic this question:
“…What more have you heard about the extent of his drinking habits and how it seems to be affecting his ability to serve as FBI director?”
Fitzpatrick responded:
“I think the key point is that this is happening in places in which it is public. There are lots and lots of people around who are seeing it, who are hearing about it, who are learning about it.
For example, we have video of Patel chugging a beer to excess on video. We’ve all seen it.
And I think it speaks to, you know, he was on official travel at that time. There were ongoing threats in the United States at that time. So, you know it is a very, very clear pattern that has occurred in multiple locations over a long period of time. And it’s that pattern which is given everyone pause. These are not one off events.”
Jen Psaki and her guest want people to believe Kash Patel’s drinking is affecting his ability to serve as FBI Director.
FBI Delivers Historic Results in 2025 Under Director Kash Patel:
- Total arrests jumped 197% to 67,000 — a massive surge in law enforcement action.
- Violent crime arrests rose 112%, while homicides and robberies dropped 20% in major cities.
- Gang and criminal enterprise disruptions skyrocketed 210% (1,800+ gangs taken down).
- Fentanyl seizures increased 31% — enough to kill over 178 million Americans.
- Child predator and violent extremism arrests surged 490%.
- More than 6,200 missing and exploited children were located — protecting the most vulnerable.
- 6 of the FBI’s Top 10 Most Wanted fugitives were arrested — more than the entire previous administration in four years.
See the FBI’s historic arrests under Director Kash Patel.
https://www.fbi.gov/news/press-releases
This is not the record of someone unable to do the job.
The media wants people to believe Patel’s drinking is a problem, and he is not fit to serve. Yet Patel’s FBI is making America safer by arresting gang members, seizing drugs, rescuing children, and capturing top fugitives.
One question remains:
When Patel and the FBI start arresting corrupt politicians and deep-state insiders, will the media still blame his drinking?
The record shows Patel is getting the job done.
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