A Houston federal judge dismissed FBI Director Kash Patel’s defamation lawsuit against MS NOW contributor Frank Figliuzzi over his claim that Patel was in “nightclubs far more than he has been” at the agency’s headquarters.
US District Court Judge George Hanks Jr. wrote in his Tuesday decision that Figliuzzi’s statement is “rhetorical hyperbole that cannot constitute defamation,” so Patel “has failed to state a claim against Figliuzzi.”
He also denied the FBI director’s request for court costs and attorneys’ fees.
“This is a victory for press freedom and the First Amendment,” Figliuzzi’s lawyer told The Post in a statement. “Director Patel’s claim against Frank was baseless, and we are pleased that the court dismissed it.”
A judge dismissed FBI Director Kash Patel’s defamation lawsuit against an MS NOW contributor. AP Attorneys for Patel did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
The ruling came a day after Patel sued The Atlantic and one of its writers for $250 million over a report that he has a drinking problem and regularly goes missing — potentially harming national security.
At issue in the Houston suit was a May remark from Figliuzzi, a former FBI official.
“Yeah, well, reportedly he’s been visible at nightclubs far more than he has been on the seventh floor of the Hoover Building,” he said on “Morning Joe,” referring to the FBI’s Washington, DC headquarters.
Figliuzzi added that it’s “both a blessing and a curse, because if he’s really trying to run things without any experience level, things could be bad … but he’s allowing agents to run things.”
A few days later, MS NOW anchor Jonathan Lemire walked back the statement.
“Frank Figliuzzi was on that hour, discussing the work of administration officials,” he said.
“At the end of that segment, Figliuzzi said that FBI Director Kash Patel has been more visible at nightclubs than the FBI headquarters. This was a misstatement. We have not verified that claim,” Lemire added.
Frank Figliuzzi, an MS NOW columnist wrote that Patel was in “nightclubs far more than he has been” at the FBI’s headquarters. Michael Brochstein/ZUMA Press Wire / Shutterstock Patel filed his lawsuit in June, accusing Figliuzzi of “fabricating a specific lie” because of his “clear animus” toward the FBI director.
“Defendant knew that this was a lie when he said it,” alleged Patel’s attorneys, adding that Patel “has not spent a single minute inside of a nightclub” since becoming the director of the FBI.
They noted Figliuzzi had previously lashed out at Patel, calling him “one of the most ill-suited Cabinet nominees – not just now, but of all time.”
In the judge’s Tuesday decision, Hanks wrote that Figliuzzi’s nightclub jab, “when taken in context, cannot have been perceived by a person of ordinary intelligence as stating actual facts about Patel.”
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“A person of reasonable intelligence and learning would not have taken his statement literally: that Dir. Patel has actually spent more hours physically in a nightclub than he has spent physically in his office building,” the judge continued.
Figliuzzi “delivered his answer ‘in an exaggerated, provocative and amusing way,’ employing rhetorical hyperbole,” Hanks wrote.
Patel’s defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic this week claims the magazine’s article, initially titled “Kash Patel’s Erratic Behavior Could Cost Him His Job,” is “categorically false and defamatory.”
The story – the headline for which was changed to “The FBI Director Is MIA” – cited more than two dozen anonymous sources alleging Patel’s “conspicuous inebriation and unexplained absences” had alarmed government officials.
