Another week, another round of breathless reporting about FBI Director Kash Patel allegedly being on the chopping block, and another round of that reporting aging like milk left on a summer dashboard.
As USA Journal detailed, MS NOW assembled a five-reporter squad to produce a story claiming Patel was in serious trouble after being unexpectedly summoned to the White House last Friday. The reality? Patel had planned a trip to Chicago, where he had daytime meetings and his country-singer girlfriend had a performance that evening. He got called to the West Wing instead. That is apparently all it takes to generate a firing narrative these days.
The story from Ken Dilanian, Carole Leonnig, Jacqueline Alemany, Vaughn Hillard, and Jake Traylor leaned on eight separate anonymous sourcing attributions. "People spoke on the condition of anonymity." "According to two people with knowledge." "Several people said." You get the picture. Not a single named official backed the central claim. And the real showstopper was this admission buried in the piece: "The precise reasons that Patel's political bosses demanded he cancel his trip and report to the West Wing are unclear."
They published it anyway. With five bylines. That is one byline per 1.6 anonymous sources, for anyone keeping score at home.
Meanwhile, The New York Times, which is not exactly sending Patel a fruit basket every Christmas, managed to report what Patel was actually doing at the White House. He was working the leak investigation into compromised Air Force One communications during Trump's NATO trip. An eight-hour workday on a specific assignment. Nothing resembling a termination.
Five reporters at a major television network could not uncover what the Times found. That is genuinely impressive in the wrong direction.
This follows the same pattern we saw when The Atlantic ran that Patel alcoholism story, complete with anonymous claims about blackouts in his office. No official incident reports. No on-the-record witnesses. No consequences for anyone except the people who amplified it.
Patel himself responded to Dilanian's reporting on social media with characteristic restraint. Just kidding. He called Dilanian a "dumbass" and wrote: "Your job is to lie. Mine is to protect the American people, and business is good!"
Say what you will about the man's diplomatic skills, but he does remain employed as FBI Director, which is more than the stories about him can say for their credibility.
The formula at this point is almost comforting in its predictability. Anonymous sources whisper dire warnings. Reporters frame it dramatically. Nobody will put their name on anything. Patel shows up to work the next morning like nothing happened. Rinse, repeat, and collect your journalism awards.
Five reporters. Eight anonymous sources. One admission that they did not actually know what happened. Zero named officials. One guy still running the FBI. The math is not mathing for the scoop team.
Read more conservative news commentary at: USA Journal News
