Ben Williamson is the Assistant Director for Public Affairs at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to his X profile, and press reports quote him as an FBI spokesperson. He previously held communications roles at the White House under President Donald Trump and worked as communications director for then Representative Mark Meadows.
Case
MS NOW reported, citing three unnamed sources, that Kash Patel ordered the FBI detail protecting Alexis Wilkins to drive a friend home. The FBI and Wilkins say it did not happen, MS NOW stands by its reporting, and her defamation suit is pending.
Role at the time: FBI Assistant Director for Public Affairs, on his X account
Response to this claim
FBI spokesperson Ben Williamson told MS NOW "This is made up and did not happen," and wrote on X on December 5, 2025 that those involved told him it did not happen and that he found no corroboration or record of it.
“1,000% false and did not happen. And I’d like to give some BTS insight into how this hogwash got printed. … all of whom said it didn’t happen. Couldn’t find any corroboration or record of it whatsoever. … I went back to the reporter and said “everyone involved says this is false - can you give me any other info so I can provide some proof beyond just a denial? A date? Name of the friend? Anything.” Their response was: “We do not have that info but are comfortable with our sourcing.””
The reference point is the proposition that, on at least one occasion, FBI Director Kash Patel ordered the FBI agents assigned to protect Alexis Wilkins to escort or drive a friend of hers home, as MS NOW reported on December 5, 2025. Williamson says the report is "1,000% false and did not happen", so we used Denied. The closest competing label is Challenged the characterization, because the post also criticizes how the report was sourced. It loses because the post's central statement is that the events did not occur, which goes beyond a criticism of the reporting or its description. His account of what others told him is his own.
Role at the time: FBI spokesperson, in a statement quoted by MS NOW
Response to this claim
FBI spokesperson Ben Williamson told MS NOW "This is made up and did not happen," and wrote on X on December 5, 2025 that those involved told him it did not happen and that he found no corroboration or record of it.
“This is made up and did not happen”
The reference point is the proposition that, on at least one occasion, FBI Director Kash Patel ordered the FBI agents assigned to protect Alexis Wilkins to escort or drive a friend of hers home, as MS NOW reported on December 5, 2025. Williamson says the reported events "did not happen", which is an explicit statement that the reported conduct did not occur, so we used Denied. The closest competing label is Challenged the characterization. It loses because he does not dispute a description or the reporting's framing in this line; he says the events did not occur.
Statement dates: December 5, 2025
Statement dates: December 5, 2025
