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.
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