FBI Director Kash Patel admitted in a 2005 letter that he was arrested twice as a young man — once for public intoxication at age 20 while an undergraduate, once for public urination while drunk at law school — details he disclosed when applying to the Florida Bar and which The Intercept published Friday. Trump backs Patel despite The Atlantic's recent report alleging current drinking problems, with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt saying the president still has confidence in him. The story conflates two separate controversies: Patel's confirmed youth arrests (which he acknowledged decades ago and which were part of his background vetting) versus The Atlantic's unverified claims about current drinking habits based on unnamed sources — a distinction Patel's legal challenge hinges on.