A leftist lawfare group is seeking information that may prove claims that FBI Director Kash Patel has behavioral issues that adversely impact his job, including “excessive drinking and unexplained absences.” In the aftermath of a hit piece by The Atlantic, which cites anonymous sources to allege that the nation’s top law enforcement officer is a drunk, the group Democracy Forward has sent a 16-page Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Justice Department asking for documents, including communications and schedules that could prove the claims made in the explosive article. The claims were strongly denied by Patel, who wasted little time in filing a $250 million defamation lawsuit against the outlet and its reporter. And .. here come the Freedom of Information Act requests for Kash Patel records DC watchdog group Democracy Forward has formally requested Patel’s calendars & any messages from security detail that include words “drinking”, “hungover”, “inebriated”https://t.co/cyKtVxXNOw pic.twitter.com/FY0TtZg3LA — Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) April 21, 2026 “Earlier this month, The Atlantic published an article indicating that Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) Director Kash Patel’s behavior, including excessive drinking and unexplained absences, was jeopardizing his role as Director,” the FOIA request reads. “Democracy Forward Foundation seeks records that would help the public understand the issues raised in the Atlantic article as it relates to previous reporting on potential concerns surrounding Director Patel’s ability to run a key law enforcement agency and his use of taxpayer dollars,” the group wrote in the April 21 communication. The group requests that the FBI produce electronic communications, including texts and messaging platform activity by Bureau officials and members of Patel’s security detail that contain more than a dozen key terms related to booze and boozing. The terms include: Alcohol, asleep, drunk, drinking, hungover, inebriated, intoxicated, merchandise, and sleeping, as well as unresponsive and

The Middle Corridor Emerges As A Strategic Lifeline For Global Trade Via RFE/RL, Global trade is shifting away from vulnerable maritime chokepoints toward overland routes like the Middle Corridor amid rising geopolitical instability A $3.3 billion World Bank-backed investment push aims to address infrastructure gaps and unlock the corridor’s long-term potential While promising, the route still faces major capacity and coordination constraints before it can rival established northern trade flows While diplomatic efforts struggle to stabilize access to the Strait of Hormuz amid tensions between the United States and Iran, Eurasian trade is increasingly being redirected toward overland alternatives, with the Trans-Caspian Transport Route, also known as the Middle Corridor, emerging as a key diversification route in Eurasian logistics. The World Bank described the Middle Corridor back in 2023 as a strategically important but structurally constrained route. While geopolitical fragmentation, driven in part by Russia’s war in Ukraine, has increased the demand for alternative corridors, the World Bank emphasized that the corridor’s long-term viability requires coordinated investment, the removal of infrastructure bottlenecks, and improved cross-border customs and transport procedures. To address these roadblocks, the World Bank and its partners on April 14–15 committed $3.3 billion to strengthening key missing links along the corridor, including $1.9 billion for Turkey’s Istanbul North Rail Crossing and a $1.4 billion investment in the reconstruction of Kazakhstan’s Karagandy–Zhezkazgan highway. On the same day that this was announced, Turkish Vice President Cevdet Y?lmaz underscored the importance of such investment at a meeting in Astana. “The Northern Corridor [through Russia] has become unpredictable due to geopolitical tensions. The southern route is pushing the limits of its capacity,” he said. “This situation has made the Middle Corridor not an alternative but a mandatory choice.” Dosym Satpayev, director of the Risk Assessment Group in Almaty — an independent think tank

Despite being deemed too politically incorrect for corporate publishing, a new novel bravely tackles multiculturalism, immigration, and the horrifying crimes they have produced.