FBI agents involved in investigations that led to the now-dropped criminal charges against President Donald Trump are reportedly facing a mass purge within the agency, with plans to fire many of them, according to U.S. media reports from Friday.
Dozens of agents connected to the probe of Trump supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, as well as some supervisors, are being reviewed for potential dismissal, CNN reported, citing informed sources.
The Washington Post added that officials are working to identify potentially hundreds of agents for termination.
In addition to the FBI purge, around 30 federal prosecutors working on Capitol riot cases, who were on probation, have been dismissed, with the Justice Department also firing several officials involved in Trump-related prosecutions.
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A Justice Department official said these positions were terminated because the acting attorney general believed the individuals could not be trusted to faithfully execute the president’s agenda.
NBC News reported that the firings include heads of more than 20 FBI field offices, including those in Miami and Washington.
According to CNN, at least six senior FBI officials have been ordered to retire, resign, or be fired by Monday.
The acting FBI director, Brian Driscoll, a veteran agent appointed by Trump, reportedly opposed the large-scale firings, according to The Washington Post.
Senator Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, strongly criticized the dismissals, calling them a “brazen assault on the rule of law” that undermines national security and public safety.
He accused “unelected Trump loyalists” of carrying out political retribution against career law enforcement officials.
The FBI Agents Association warned that firing hundreds of agents would undermine the agency’s ability to protect the country from security and criminal threats, and risk failure for the new leadership.
Special Counsel Jack Smith, who brought charges against Trump in two federal cases, resigned earlier this month.
Trump was charged with attempting to overturn the 2020 election and mishandling classified documents, but both cases were dropped after Trump’s re-election.
After Trump’s victory, FBI Director Christopher Wray resigned, and Trump appointed his former advisor, Kash Patel, to head the FBI.
During his Senate confirmation hearing, Patel denied knowing about plans to punish FBI agents involved in Trump investigations, assuring the committee that all FBI employees would be protected from political retribution.
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