FBI Director Kash Patel’s girlfriend, Alexis Wilkins, has filed a federal defamation lawsuit against MS NOW, saying the cable network used anonymous sources and inaccurate framing to suggest she abused bureau resources. The suit was filed in Nashville and names reporters Ken Dilanian and Carol Leonnig as defendants alongside the network.
Wilkins says the reporting created a “false portrayal” of her character and conduct. Her lawyers argue that the article pushed “knowingly or recklessly false allegations” and portrayed her as intoxicated even though she does not drink.
What the lawsuit claims
The complaint centers on a story MS NOW published that said Patel had ordered security agents assigned to Wilkins to escort one of her intoxicated friends home after a night of partying in Nashville. Wilkins’ legal team says that detail was wrong and that the security detail described in the story did not even exist at the time of the alleged incident.
Her lawyers also say the article implied she was part of a party scene that does not fit her professional identity. They described her as “a responsible, sober young woman” and said the reporting harmed her reputation in both her career and personal standing.
The lawsuit says Wilkins is sober and “very rarely drinks, if ever.” It also cites a statement from FBI spokesman Ben Williamson, who reportedly told one of the journalists before publication that she “doesn’t even drink.”
MS NOW stands by its reporting
MS NOW President Rebecca Kutler said the network supports its story. “We stand firmly behind MS NOW’s reporting,” she said in a statement, while adding that the company does not usually comment on active legal disputes.
The publication involved was written by Dilanian and Leonnig and appeared on Dec. 5, according to the lawsuit. Wilkins’ attorneys acknowledge that the article did not directly say she drank, but they argue readers were still led to that conclusion.
Who Alexis Wilkins is
Wilkins is described in the lawsuit as a country music singer and actor. Her legal filing says the story caused humiliation and damaged her professional identity, reputation, and standing in the community.
She is asking for a jury trial and more than $75,000 in damages. The case adds another layer to the scrutiny surrounding Patel, who has also been the subject of separate media-related litigation.
Links to another defamation fight
Two of Wilkins’ attorneys also represent Patel in a separate lawsuit against The Atlantic over an article published in April that alleged he drinks to excess. Patel’s team has called that article a “sweeping, malicious and defamatory hit piece,” while The Atlantic has said it stands by its reporting and will defend its journalists.
MS NOW was formerly part of NBCUniversal under the MSNBC brand before NBCUniversal spun off its cable channels into Versant Media Group. The new lawsuit now puts the network and its reporters at the center of a legal dispute over how the story portrayed Wilkins and what readers were meant to take from it.
Read more at: www.nbcnews.com
