FBI Director’s Girlfriend Sues Podcaster Elijah Schaffer for $5M Over Retweet

Alexis Wilkins, a country music singer and girlfriend of FBI Director Kash Patel, filed a $5 million defamation lawsuit against conservative podcaster Elijah Schaffer for on Oct. 28, 2025, alleging his social media post falsely implied she is an Israeli spy.

The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida under case number 9:25-cv-81334-DMM, claims Schaffer's activity on X, formerly Twitter, exploited Wilkins' relationship with Patel to generate online engagement.

Wilkins seeks "compensatory, special and punitive damages in the sum of $5,000,000 or such greater amount as is determined by the jury."

Schaffer has not responded to the filing.

A central allegation leveled by Wilkins targets a wordless retweet.

On Sept. 14, 2025, X user Hen Mazzig detailed Mossad's use of female agents against Iran, noting they "seduced high-ranking enemy officials."

Schaffer retweeted the content without caption, attaching an Instagram photo of Wilkins arm-in-arm with Patel at a formal event, her in a fitted red halter-neck cocktail dress.

The post exploded: 1.5 million views, 38,000 likes, thousands of reposts.

"While Defendant may not have included any caption to spell out the meaning of his post, he didn't have to," the complaint states.

It argues the juxtaposition, amid circulating online rumors of Wilkins as a "honeypot" operative, accused her of seducing Patel to compromise U.S. security and exposed her to harassment and threats.

Wilkins, 27, rose from Nashville's music scene with her 2021 debut EP Grit, which hit No. 4 on iTunes country charts. A Tennessee native and self-described devout Christian, she served as press secretary for Rep. Abe Hamadeh, R-Ariz., and contributes to PragerU.

She and Patel, 45, a Trump appointee confirmed as FBI director in February 2025, reportedly began dating in January 2023 after meeting at a conservative event.

Patel has called her a "country music sensation" in defenses on X while detractors note her Spotify monthly listeners linger below 9,000.

The complaint alleges Schaffer's actions stemmed from his criticism of Israeli influence in U.S. policy and disdain for Patel, showing "actual malice."

To succeed, Wilkins must prove under the Supreme Court's 1964 New York Times Co. v. Sullivan standard that Schaffer knew his implications were false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth. Florida courts protect online speech, including retweets, as sharing rather than endorsement.

A victory for Wilkins could deter investigative commentary. A motion to dismiss looms, potentially testing these boundaries early.

In August 2025, Wilkins sued former FBI agent Kyle Seraphin for $5 million in Austin federal court, alleging his Aug. 22 podcast episode referenced an unnamed woman matching her description as a "former Mossad agent" in a "honeypot" scheme targeting Patel. Seraphin called it satire based on rumors and has moved to dismiss, citing his 2023 meeting with the couple. A December hearing is scheduled.

Patel faces separate scrutiny over travel. Flight logs show the FBI's Gulfstream V jet (N708JH), valued at $60 million, flew him from Washington to Pennsylvania on Oct. 24, 2025, ahead of Wilkins' national anthem performance at a Real American Freestyle wrestling event at Penn State University the next day.

The jet returned to Washington that evening, during a partial government shutdown furloughing workers.

FBI spokesman Ben Williamson countered that directors require secure aircraft for safety, even personally, and Patel prepaid $300 for coach-equivalent reimbursement.

Logs later revealed additional hops: to Nashville for Wilkins' Nov. 3 birthday and Florida for a Trump Halloween bash.

Patel fired back on X Nov. 2, 2025: "The disgustingly baseless attacks against Alexis — a true patriot and the woman I’m proud to call my partner in life — are beyond pathetic."

He has tweeted voluminously on her defense but issued no word on the Jan. 6, 2021, pipe bomber — despite Blaze News reporter Steve Baker's Nov. 8 allegation, backed by Seraphin, naming ex-Capitol Police Officer Shauni Rae Kerkhoff, 31, of Alexandria, Virginia, as the culprit.

Wilkins herself has waded deeper into national security waters, drawing fresh scrutiny. In an Oct. 31, 2025, appearance on One America News Network, she warned of "additional sleeper cells preparing to launch attacks across the United States," tying the threat to lax border policies under President Joe Biden.

The comment, made amid fallout from a potential Halloween terror plot in Michigan, prompted online mockery and questions about her sources. Wilkins, who has no formal intelligence background, pushed back on X the next day, insisting her remarks stemmed from "publicly available stats" and years of commentary on border issues since Trump's first term.

The public holds ample cause for unease when an obscure country singer divulges purported terror intel on cable news. Yet even a skeptical glance at this oddity risks a multimillion-dollar lawsuit, as Wilkins' recent filings demonstrate.

Frustration boils over among Trump's MAGA faithful, who decry Patel's stewardship of high-stakes probes— investigation of the September 2025 assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, the FBI's July decision to withhold further Jeffrey Epstein files — after Patel once amplified "client list" theories — and accusations of a January 6 pipe bomb whitewash, and the grievances mount.

Is Patel's top imperative to safeguarde his partner's image, or unravel scandals that once fueled his rise?

What was once dismissed as the rough-and-tumble of online debate now lands you in court, facing ruinous costs for daring to question the powerful.

Courts must soon decide: Does speech bend to the elite, or does the Constitution hold firm?

Please consider donating to Elijah Schaffer's legal fund to help fight back against this absurd lawsuit against Alexis Wilkins. You can donate directly here to our GiveSendGo.