Kash Patel has repeatedly sued media outlets for defamation in a years’ long ‘lawfare’ campaign, despite losing nearly every case. (Photo: Gage Skidmore )
FBI Director Kash Patel has been waging fruitless “lawfare” against the media for years, likely costing millions of dollars and raising ethical questions. Who is paying the legal fees?
The thin-skinned FBI Director has filed at least eight personal lawsuits since 2019, focusing on defamation claims against media organizations and commentators, according to Bloomberg.
Patel’s merry-go-round of media lawsuits can only been described as “lawfare,” the strategic misuse or weaponization of the legal system to “chill,” coverage of him and the Trump administration.
So far, he has lost every case against a media outlet. Typically all have been dismissed before trial. Such a litigation track record raises questions about how Patel is paying his legal fees and whether he is misusing the courts for political reaons.
He earns between $198,111 and $221,369 as FBI Director, according to federal guidelines, and had a reported net worth of about $6.9 million.
Patel reportedly made at least $2.6 million from consulting, book royalties, and speaking fees. But he suspended his business in 2024. His biggest clients were pro-Trump PACs, such as Save America.
Taking a high-profile, complex lawsuit all the way to trial in federal court often costs hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars. High-stakes litigation involving extensive discovery, expert witnesses, and top-tier legal talent can easily escalate far beyond that, according to legal references.
Both lawyers representing him, Jesse Binnall and Steven Biss, are part of a virtual cottage industry of conservative advocates, who have churned out more than a dozen right-wing defamation lawsuits for high-profile clients, including President Trump.
Patel has framed his legal actions as part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to “fight back against the fake news.” But whether government funds or specific PACs are paying for his private litigation is unknown.
The group Democracy Forward Foundation has formally requested records from the Justice Department to investigate Patel’s use of taxpayer dollars.
The inquiry seeks to clarify whether public funds were used for activities, such as personal travel or mismanagement. It’s unknown whether the source of his legal fees is included.
Binnall is often described as a “go-to lawyer” for Trump administration officials. He previously represented Donald Trump Jr. and Michael Flynn.
Neither Biss nor Binall publicize their fees, which could vary based on the client. Biss has also been known to take cases on a “contingency” basis, meaning he only gets paid if his client wins.
But both laywers could be charging between $400 to over $1,000 per hour, based on industry benchmarks for senior attorneys and partners in high-dollar fields such as white-collar lawsuits.
While Patel’s legal bills are unknown, Trump’s various cases could provide a gauge for the cost of litigation.
During his second term, Trump has filed defamation lawsuits against ABC News, CBS/Paramount, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The BBC, and CNN.
Trump won high-profile settlements against ABC and CBS, both of which had mergers pending before the federal government at the time.
But Trump has lost suits against The Times, The Post, The Journal and CNN. The BBC suit, as well as suits against The Des Moines Register and journalist Bob Woodard are still pending.
Trump was ordered in January to pay nearly $400,000 in legal fees to The Times and three reporters for his failed suit over a Pulitzer Prize-winning 2018 story about his family’s wealth and tax practices.
The BBC filed a motion to dismiss in March, claiming the case could have a “chilling effect” on robust reporting on public figures and events, according to First Amendment Watch at New York University.
A federal judge dismissed Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the Journal and owner Rupert Murdoch earlier this month over Trump’s salacious birthday card to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump is reportedly funding his lawsuits from more than $90 million in settlements from media companies, including Meta ($25M), YouTube ($24.5M), Paramount/CBS ($16M), and ABC ($15M+).
Trump has also tapped Save America PAC, his primary vehicle for legal bills, funded largely by small-dollar grassroots donors.
It spent over $50 million on legal fees in 2023 alone and reported being in debt by early 2026, according to media reports. To cover shortfalls he reportedly transferred $42.5 million to Save America from MAGA Inc., another Super PAC.
In all, Tump has tapped his political network for more than $160 million on legal fees since 2015, with a significant portion of current litigation focused on the media, according to media reports.
Patel’s legal fees are obviously substantially lower, but he also doesn’t have the same resources.
Patel operates a nonprofit organization called The Kash Foundation, which includes providing legal defense funds for Trump allies as part of its mission. He does not have his own Super PAC.
In 2024, the tax-free foundation reported $2,526,894 in revenues and a net loss of $45,577, with net assets of $622,990, according to IRS records. None of its distributions have gone to him.
The FBI Director is generally prohibited from accepting outside donations for personal lawsuits under federal ethics laws and Department of Justice (DOJ) regulations.
Patel, a lawyer, is also strictly barred from the practicing law or accepting outside income that conflicts with his official duties without specific waivers.
Yet, Patel has an extensive history of filing media defamation lawsuits and the practice has continued into his term as FBI Director.
In addition to the most recent suit against The Atlantic magazine and reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick, he also sued former FBI agent and media commentor Frank Figliuzzi for defamation.
Binnall, who represented Trump in part of his 2020 election fraud case and other matters, also represented Patel in the Figliuzzi and the Stewartson case. During the 2024 campaign, Trump paid Binnall $3.3 million through Trump’s Make America Great Again PAC.
For his suits against The Times, Politico and CNN, Patel turned to Biss, a Virginia lawyer who gained notoriety in conservative legal circles representing California Republican Devin Nunes in five defamation lawsuits against media companies.
Nunes filed at least 11 defamation lawsuits between 2019 and 2023. Media defendants have included Rachel Maddow, CNN, The Washington Post, and The Fresno Bee. Those cases were all dimissed at a preliminary stage.
In the CNN case, Biss was ordered to pay $21,437.50 in attorney fees and $52.26 in expenses after a federal judge sanctioned him for filing a “frivolous” defamation lawsuit on behalf of Nunes and another plaintiff. The judge described the filing as “bad faith conduct.”
Most notably, Biss’s Virginia license to practice law was suspended in January 2024 due to impairment. He has also been ordered to reimbures clients for more than $300,000 in fees for services he failed to perform.
Patel sued Politico in 2019, seeking $25 million over articles he claimed were written by “partisan hacks.” He withdrew the complaint in late 2021 after a judge signaled it might be dismissed.
In 2019, Patel also sued The New York Times for $44 million for alleged “false facts” in their reporting. He dropped the case in August 2021.
In January a year ago, a Virginia appeals court affirmed the dismissal of Patel’s $50 million defamation lawsuit against CNN. The court ruled that Patel, as a public official, failed to meet the “actual malice” standard required for defamation.
A federal judge this week also dismissed Patel’s defamation lawsuit against Figliuzzi.
The judge, in a conservative Texas federal district, ruled that Figliuzzi’s comment was “rhetorical hyperbole” that cannot constitute defamation.
In an appearance on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe,” Figliuzzi said: “Yeah, well, reportedly he’s been visible at nightclubs far more than he has been on the seventh floor of the Hoover Building.”
Legal experts say The Atlantic lawsuit is likely to end the same way. So far, the publication is standing behind the story and has vowed to fight the lawsuit.
In his only success to date, Patel sued political activist Jim Stewartson for libel, after Stewartson called Patel a “Russian asset” in a substack post. Patel won a default judgment after Stewartson failed to respond to the case and was ordered to pay $250,000.
But Stewartson has since filed to set aside the judgment and is now actively pursuing a defense. So far, the judge has rejected his motion, arguing he was never properly served, while a claim is pending that the case was misfiled in Nevada, where allegedly he has little to no presence.
But the pattern is clear. Trump administration officials and other high-profile Republicans are waging a concerted effort to weaponize the courts to chill free speech and robust public debate.