'No chance': Ex-FBI official shreds notion Kash Patel didn't know of probe into reporter

A former FBI official shredded FBI Director Kash Patel's claim on Wednesday that he was unaware his agency was probing a New York Times reporter who wrote an article critical of Patel and his girlfriend, country music singer Alexis Wilkins.

The NYT reported on Wednesday, citing a source inside the FBI, that the agency had started looking into reporter Elizabeth Williamson over the article, which raised questions about the amount of security Wilkins received and Patel's use of FBI jets to travel to see her. Wilkins described Williamson as a "stalker" in a post on X after the article was published. The FBI declined to pursue formal charges, the NYT added.

Andrew McCabe, former FBI deputy director, told Anderson Cooper on CNN's "AC360" that there is "no chance" Patel was unaware the probe was underway.

"Inconceivable," McCabe said. "There's absolutely no chance that Kash Patel did not know about what was happening there."

The investigation was revealed just days after The Atlantic published a bombshell report alleging that Patel drinks to excess while on the clock and also has attendance issues. The report detailed one instance in which a SWAT team had to be called to wake Patel because he wasn't answering his phone.

Patel has denied the allegations in the report and sued The Atlantic for defamation, seeking $250 million in damages.