WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI continues its personnel purge, expelling additional agents and supervisors connected to the federal investigation into President Donald Trump. Efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The layoffs come despite efforts by top federal prosecutors in Washington to block at least some of the layoffs, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.
Employees were told this week that they would be laid off, but plans have since been put on hold. DCUS Attorney Jeanine Pirro The two people expressed concern, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss personnel matters.
The agents were then fired again on Tuesday, although it’s unclear what prompted the change in direction. The total number of employees laid off was not immediately clear.
The end is Wider personnel changes Under the leadership of FBI Director Kash Patel, the agency has expelled numerous senior officials and employees involved in investigations and actions that angered the Trump administration. 3 people were expelled FBI official filed suit against Patel in September; succumb to political pressure This is to carry out a “revenge campaign.”
Spokespeople for Mr. Patel and Mr. Pirro did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment Tuesday.
The FBI Agents Association, which has criticized Patel’s firing, said in a statement that Patel “ignored the law and launched an outrageous and arbitrary campaign of retaliation.”
“Yesterday’s actions, in which an FBI special agent was fired, then immediately reinstated, and then fired again today, highlight the chaos that occurs when long-standing policies and processes are ignored,” the association said. “Simply because an investigator is assigned to an investigation and conducts the investigation properly and within the law is never grounds for dismissal.”
The 2020 election investigation that ultimately led to Special Counsel Jack Smith’s indictment of Trump has come under intense scrutiny from Republican lawmakers who have accused the Biden administration’s Justice Department of weaponizing it against conservatives. In recent weeks, Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released investigative documents provided by the FBI. Analyzed phone records from more than six Republican members of Congress. As part of the investigation.
The Justice Department has fired prosecutors and other department officials who worked on Mr. Smith’s team, and the FBI has similarly expelled agents and senior officials for various reasons as part of an ongoing purge, adding to the turmoil and anxiety within the Justice Department.
In August, the FBI fired the head of its Washington field office and a former acting director who resisted the Trump administration’s demands. Pass agent name people who participated January 6th Capitol riot investigation. And in September, fired the agent They were photographed kneeling during a racial justice protest in Washington after the incident. George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police in 2020.
