FBI Director Kash Patel testifies before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, on March 18, 2026.
Kevin Lamarck | reuters
FBI Director Kash Patel filed a petition on Thursday Request Recently his defamation suit against former FBI official Frank Figluzzi was dismissed.
Patel had sued Figliuzzi in Houston federal court, alleging that the former FBI counterintelligence assistant director defamed him in an interview on May 2, 2025. MS Now’s “Morning Joesaying that Patel was “far more visible in nightclubs than on the seventh floor of FBI headquarters”.
US District Court Judge George Hanks Jr. in a speech on April 21 decision Patel dismissed the suit, saying that Figliuzzi’s statement was “an exaggeration that cannot amount to defamation.”
“Accordingly, Director Patel has failed to state a claim against Figliuzzi and his lawsuit should be dismissed,” Hanks wrote.
Hanks dismissed Patel’s lawsuit a day after the FBI director filed an unrelated $250 million defamation lawsuit in DC federal court. atlantic magazine.
This lawsuit relates to an Atlantic Article It is alleged that Patel has misused alcohol.
Patel’s attempt to dismiss the case against Figliuzzi to be heard 5th Circuit US Court of Appeals.
The notice of appeal filed by Patel’s lawyers on Thursday did not identify the grounds of the appeal. Those grounds will be laid out in a future court filing.
Patel’s lawsuit against Figliuzzi stated that the former FBI official had fabricated “a specific lie” about Patel because of his “obvious animosity” toward the director.
“Since becoming Director of the FBI, Director Patel has not spent a single minute inside a nightclub,” Patel’s lawsuit said.
CNBC has requested comment from attorneys for Patel and Figluzzi.