A Las Vegas federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit now-FBI director Kash Patel filed against a blogger he accused of describing him as a “Kremlin asset.”
Patel’s defamation suit was initially filed in 2023. He was previously represented by attorney Sigal Chattah, who now runs Nevada’s U.S. attorney’s office.
Chief U.S. District Judge Andrew Gordon granted Jim Stewartson’s motions to dismiss and to vacate a prior default judgment in his Saturday order. The judge based his ruling on a finding that the court in Nevada did not have personal jurisdiction over Stewartson.
In the suit, Patel alleged that Stewartson, a blogger on online platforms like Substack and X, “sought publicity and financial gain by any means necessary, including by maliciously defaming Mr. Patel with incredible allegations that Mr. Patel has worked to overthrow the government and is a Russian agent.”
The posts at issue in the lawsuit spanned the period from 2021 to 2023, though Patel’s attorneys also complained in a later filing about a 2025 X post in which they said Stewartson called Patel a “Googly-eyed Kremlin b——.”
Attorneys for Patel did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday. Patel has also sued The Atlantic over an article which discussed allegations that he drank excessively.
Stewartson’s attorney Maggie McLetchie said her client’s comments were protected speech.
“When we’re talking about elected officials, First Amendment protections are at their zenith,” she said. “And frankly, this is not the only suit, I believe, that Kash Patel has filed and I think our elected officials should have better things to do than trying to file suits against their critics.”
Stewartson did not initially file a response to the suit and Gordon granted Patel default judgment in Aug. 2025, awarding him and his foundation $250,000. Gordon’s decision Saturday voids that award.
Despite then ruling in Patel’s favor and finding that Stewartson had defamed him, Gordon voiced skepticism at the time about Patel’s claims.
“(A)fter the defamatory statements, Mr. Patel was confirmed by the United States Senate as Director of the F.B.I.,” wrote the judge. “Clearly his reputation was not significantly sullied by the defamatory statements.”
Stewartson then challenged the default judgment through McLetchie and attorney Leo Wolpert, who have also represented the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
They alleged that Stewartson was never served with the suit, that there was a lack of personal jurisdiction and that Patel’s claims were barred by the First Amendment.
“Even if calling Mr. Patel a ‘Kremlin asset’ were not protected rhetorical hyperbole, subsequent reporting in fact supports Mr. Stewartson’s assertions,” wrote McLetchie and Wolpert.
Patel’s lawyers said it was false that Stewartson was never served, noting that he referenced the lawsuit on social media.
Although Gordon ruled in Stewartson’s favor, he was critical of the defendant.
“Stewartson knew of the suit and may have attempted to avoid service, as shown through multiple service attempts at his address,” wrote the judge, adding, “Further, he mocked the plaintiffs online for filing the suit, and seems to have relied on his own poor judgment about what would legally constitute service.”
“He has wasted the plaintiffs’ and the court’s time, and I do not commend his actions,” Gordon said.
McLetchie said Wednesday she did not think Stewartson was avoiding service.
Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
