The FBI has fired more top officials who had investigated President Donald Trump or who responded to the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
Under the Trump-appointed Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino, the agency has seen an array of ousters, which critics say were essentially done in retaliation against agents involved in politically sensitive cases.
Five new ousters, among them former Acting Director Brian Driscoll, were reported Thursday by The New York Times, which cited people familiar with the matter.
Driscoll had refused to turn over the names of FBI agents who worked on the investigation into the January 6 attack, when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building in a failed attempt to overturn Trump’s 2020 election loss.
“Last night, I was informed that tomorrow will be my last day in the F.B.I.,” Driscoll said in a message to his colleagues about his departure, which the NYT shared.
“I understand that you may have a lot of questions regarding why, for which I currently have no answers. No cause has been articulated at this time.”
Steven Jensen, head of the FBI’s Washington field office, who played a major role in responding to the January 6 attack, was also forced out this week, according to the NYT’s sources.
Additionally, agents Walter Giardina and Christopher Meyer, who both worked on investigations involving Trump, were ousted, per the sources.
Spencer Evans, a senior agent at the bureau, was also dismissed, the paper reported. Trump supporters have accused Evans of denying religious exemptions for the COVID-19 vaccine when he worked for the agency’s human resources.
When The Independent reached out to the FBI about the oustings, the agency declined to comment.
The FBI Agents Association, an advocacy group for current and retired FBI agents, said in a statement Thursday it was “deeply concerned” by the reported firings.
“Agents are not given the option to pick and choose their cases, and these Agents carried out their assignments with professionalism and integrity. Most importantly, they followed the law,” the advocacy group said.
It added: “If these Agents are fired without due process, it makes the American people less safe. Agents need to be focused on their work and not on potentially being illegally fired based on their assignments.”
In late January, shortly after Trump took office, multiple top FBI officials promoted by former Director Christopher Wray were told to resign or retire, and if they didn’t, they would be demoted or reassigned, journalist Ken Dilanian reported, citing multiple sources.
Trump was the one who appointed Wray, but by the time he finished his first term, their relationship soured. He applauded his December 2024 resignation, writing on Truth Social at the time it was a great day for America as it will end the Weaponization of what has become known as the United States Department of Injustice.”
In early February, FBI agents who worked on investigations into Trump and on cases surrounding the January 6 attack sued the Justice Department to block the administration from “unlawful” and “retaliatory” purges.
