The media usually lies without any repercussions. But those days are over.
And now the FBI finally turned its crosshairs on one mainstream media outlet.
FBI Slams “1,000% False” Hit Piece on Director Patel’s Personal Life
A top FBI spokesperson unleashed on an MS NOW report Friday, branding claims that Director Kash Patel misused his girlfriend’s security detail to chauffeur her intoxicated friend home as complete fiction—part of a pattern of smears against the reform-minded leader.
Behind-the-Scenes Takedown of Shoddy Reporting
Ben Williamson, the FBI’s assistant director for public affairs, fired off a detailed rebuttal on X, ripping the story as baseless and revealing how it nearly saw daylight despite zero evidence.
“1,000% false and did not happen. And I’d like to give some BTS insight into how this hogwash got printed,” Williamson wrote Friday.
He explained that the allegation landed in his inbox Tuesday, sounding “made up” from the start. A thorough check with all parties—Alexis Wilkins (who doesn’t even drink), the Director, the detail, and others—turned up no records or witnesses to back it up.
“It sounded made up and I told the reporter so. I went and checked with everyone involved – Alexis (who doesn’t even drink), the Director, the Detail, and more – all of whom said it didn’t happen. Couldn’t find any corroboration or record of it whatsoever,” wrote Williamson.
When he pressed the reporter for their source to debunk it properly, the response was telling: “We do not have that info but are comfortable with our sourcing.”
The post targeted MS NOW Justice and Intelligence Correspondent Ken Dilanian, a co-author on the piece.
The Anonymous “Sources” and Patel’s Firm Defense
MS NOW’s report alleged Patel directed SWAT agents from girlfriend Alexis Wilkins’ protective detail to ferry her allegedly tipsy friend home after Nashville nights out—citing “three people with knowledge of the incidents” who spoke anonymously. It painted this as a recurring abuse of FBI resources, noting Patel’s unprecedented decision to provide Wilkins, a 27-year-old country singer, her own detail amid credible death threats tied to their relationship.
Critics, including former FBI agent Christopher O’Leary, decried it as “outrageous” and proof of poor judgment, but the FBI’s swift denial highlighted the story’s thin sourcing—especially given Wilkins’ own social media clapback: “Ken’s 3 sources: the voices in his head.”
Patel, who’s steered the Bureau to quick wins like nabbing the 2021 DNC pipe bomb suspect in under a year, has repeatedly swatted down misuse accusations in prior interviews.
“I’m entitled to a personal life, just like my other agency-head counterparts with their partners. Do I support my girlfriend? Absolutely. Do I take trips with her? Absolutely,” Patel said in a Fox News sit-down.
“But when they’re talking about raid jackets and Velcro and FBI plane use, they’re not talking about the facts, because they know this FBI is succeeding in ways prior leadership failed.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to MS NOW for comment on the rebuttal.
