Highlights
- Bottles bore the words "Kash Patel FBI Director," an FBI shield and his signature.
- A case of bourbon was taken to FBI's Quantico training facility in March.
- Former agents called the practice "demoralising" and "unheard-of".
The magazine purchased one such bottle from an online auction site after it appeared for sale shortly after The Atlantic's first report on Patel was published.
The seller said the bottle was a gift from Patel at an event in Las Vegas but did not want to be named.
Eight people, including current and former FBI and Department of Justice employees, told the magazine that Patel had given out the bottles to FBI staff as well as civilians he met during his official duties.
Most spoke without giving their names, saying they feared punishment if identified.
This is not the first time Patel has drawn attention for his branded merchandise. Even before becoming FBI director, he sent out boxes of Ka$h-branded items including hats, socks and items featuring the comic-book character the Punisher.
A website he co-founded still sells beanies, T-shirts, trucker caps and other items. In July last year, Patel gave 3D-printed replica revolvers to two New Zealand cabinet ministers and members of the country's police and intelligence services.
The items had to be destroyed because they were illegal under New Zealand law.
Agents raise concerns
The bourbon was also transported on DOJ aircraft. This included Patel's trip to Milan during the Winter Olympics in February, when he was filmed drinking beer with the gold medal-winning US ice hockey team, something he dismissed.
A bottle was reportedly left behind in a locker room on that trip.
In March, Patel brought at least one case of bourbon to the FBI's training facility in Quantico, Virginia, for a training seminar that featured UFC athletes providing mixed martial arts instruction to trainee agents.
At some point during the event, a bottle went missing. Retired FBI agent Kurt Siuzdak noted that multiple agents contacted him for legal advice after Patel allegedly threatened to polygraph and prosecute staff over the missing bottle. "It turned into a shitshow," Siuzdak added.
Several current and former senior FBI officials told the magazine that a director personally handing out branded liquor, including to civilians, was completely unheard-of.
One former agent described the bottles as "demoralising," saying they pointed to one set of rules for the director and another for everyone else.
Another said agents feared that refusing a bottle enthusiastically could be seen as a sign of disloyalty. Siuzdak said he had given unusual advice to agents who came to him for guidance. "I tell people to run from him," he said.
The DOJ said the practice followed a long-standing FBI tradition and that Patel "has followed all applicable ethical guidelines and pays for any personal gift himself."
The report comes weeks after Patel filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic over an earlier story that alleged his tenure had "alarmed colleagues with episodes of excessive drinking and unexplained absences," claims he denied.
