FBI Director Kash Patel testifies before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 18, 2026. Kevin Lamarque | Reuters FBI Director Kash Patel on Thursday filed an appeal of the recent dismissal of his defamation lawsuit against former FBI official Frank Figliuzzi . Patel had sued Figliuzzi in Houston federal court, alleging that the former FBI counterintelligence assistant director defamed him in a May 2, 2025, interview on MS NOW's "Morning Joe " by saying Patel had "been visible at nightclubs far more than he has been on the seventh floor of" FBI headquarters. U.S. District Court Judge George Hanks Jr., in his April 21 decision dismissing Patel's lawsuit, said that Figliuzzi's statement was "rhetorical hyperbole that cannot constitute defamation." "Accordingly, Dir. Patel has failed to state a claim against Figliuzzi, and his lawsuit must be dismissed," Hanks wrote.…