April 22 (UPI) — A federal judge in Houston has dismissed a case brought by FBI Director Kash Patel accusing pundit Frank Figliuzzi of defamation.
U.S. District Court Judge George Hanks Jr. of the Southern District of Texas said in an order released Tuesday that comments Figliuzzi made on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on May 2 were “rhetorical hyperbole that cannot constitute defamation.”
Figliuzzi is a former assistant director for counterintelligence at the FBI and has provided analysis for NBC News and MSNBC.
Patel filed the lawsuit after Figliuzzi’s appearance on the news program in which he addressed the extent to which the FBI director was involved in running the agency.
Figliuzzi told the host, “Yeah, well, reportedly, he’s been visible at nightclubs far more than he has been on the seventh floor of the Hoover building. And there are reports that daily briefings to him have been changed from every day to maybe twice weekly. So this is both a blessing and a curse, because if he’s really trying to run things without any experience level, things could be bad.
“If he’s not plugged in, things could be bad, but he’s allowing agents to run things. So we don’t know where this is going.”
Hanks said because he considers the comments to be rhetorical hyperbole, Patel failed to state a claim against Figliuzzi.
“A person of reasonable intelligence and learning would not have taken his statement literally: that Dir. Patel has actually spent more hours physically in a nightclub than he has spent physically in his office building,” Hanks wrote.
“By saying that Patel spent ‘far more’ time at nightclubs than his office, Figliuzzi delivered his answer ‘in an exaggerated, provocative and amusing way,’ employing rhetorical hyperbole.”
Hanks, however, did not grant Figliuzzi’s request to be awarded court costs and attorneys fees under Texas’ Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation law.
In a statement to CNBC, Figliuzzi’s lawyer, Marc Fuller, said the decision to dismiss the case was “a victory for press freedom and the First Amendment.”
“Director Patel’s claim against Frank was baseless, and we are pleased that the court dismissed it.”
Hanks’ decision came one day after Patel sued The Atlantic and journalist Sarah Fitzpatrick for an article she wrote alleging he has a history of alcohol abuse. He south $250 million in damages over the article, which he described as a “sweeping, malicious and defamatory hit piece.”