FBI Director Kash Patel is doubling down on his vow to sue The Atlantic for its scathing expose in which they reported that “excessive drinking” is impacting his job performance.

In a fiery rant during his interview with Maria Bartiromo on Fox’s Sunday Morning Futures, Patel was asked for his response to The Atlantic’s piece.

“If the fake news mafia isn’t hitting you personally with baseless information in Washington, D.C., then you’re not doing your job,” Patel said. “And it’s louder than ever because this FBI, under President Trump’s brilliant leadership in backing the blue, and backing law enforcement.”

Patel proceeded to trumpet various statistics in an effort to bolster his credentials, then doubled down on his pledge to sue.

“They can beat their drums, and stand next to toxic waste all they want, but that doesn’t make it toxic waste,” Patel said. “And Maria, I’m happy to announce on your show that we’re not going to take this laying down. You want to attack my character? Come at me! Bring it on! I’ll see you in court!”

“So you’re going to sue them?” Bartiromo said.

“Absolutely, it’s coming tomorrow,” Patel replied.

“Tomorrow, you will be dropping a lawsuit against The Atlantic magazine?” Bartiromo asked.

“Yes I will, for defamation,” Patel said. “Because you know what, Maria? We have to fight back against the fake news… I won’t tolerate their attacks on me because they are indirect attacks on the men and women of the FBI.

He added, “If the fake news mafia wants to, you know, ring their drum beat as loud as they can, they’re never going to stop me from completing the mission that President [Donald] Trump asked me to do, which is safeguarding America.”

According to the piece penned by The Atlantic’s Sarah Fitzpatrick, Patel has gotten extremely drunk on the job several times.

“On multiple occasions in the past year, members of his security detail had difficulty waking Patel because he was seemingly intoxicated, according to information supplied to Justice Department and White House officials,” Fitzpatrick wrote. “A request for “breaching equipment”—normally used by SWAT and hostage-rescue teams to quickly gain entry into buildings—was made last year because Patel had been unreachable behind locked doors, according to multiple people familiar with the request.”

Watch above, via Fox News.

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