Say What?

Here's the 19-page civil complaint from Kash Patel against The Atlantic

Patel claims "Defendants published the Article with actual malice, despite being expressly warned, hours before publication, that the central allegations were categorically false"https://t.co/e8ZbRp4NO3

— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) April 20, 2026

Trump v. WSJ:

The Complaint also alleges that President Trump told Defendants that the Letter was a fake before they ran the Article. President Trump argues that this allegation shows that Defendants acted with serious doubts about the truth of their reporting and, therefore, with actual malice. The Court disagrees. To establish actual malice, “a plaintiff must show the defendant deliberately avoided investigating the veracity of the statement in order to evade learning the truth.” Reed, 2025 WL 1874638, at *3. The Complaint comes nowhere close to this standard. Quite the opposite. The Article explains that, before running the story, Defendants contacted President Trump, Justice Department officials, and the FBI for comment. President Trump responded with his denial, the Justice Department did not respond at all, and the FBI declined to comment. In short, the Complaint and Article confirm that Defendants attempted to investigate. The Article also states that the WSJ reviewed the Letter. [ECF No. 35-2]. Accordingly, President Trump’s conclusory allegation that Defendants had contradictory evidence and failed to investigate is rebutted by the Article and is insufficient to establish actual malice. See Michel, 816 F.3d at 704 (holding that plaintiff did not adequately allege malice where record “indicate[d] that the reporters conducted some outreach and engaged in due diligence”).

I would not call that dispositive (for one thing, it’s a trial court opinion, which doesn’t establish precedent).  But I would cite this as an example of where Patel’s suit is likely headed. With a little help from the Complaint. Because this was in The Atlantic article:

The FBI responded with a statement, attributed to Patel: “Print it, all false, I’ll see you in court—bring your checkbook.”

"In short, the Complaint and Article confirm that Defendants attempted to investigate."

I think we’re done, here.