FBI agents sue Trump administration over Jan. 6 scrutiny and potential layoffs

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FBI facing imaginable purge of employees

FBI facing imaginable purge, enactment ordered to crook implicit names of Jan. 6 investigators 04:39

An anonymous radical of FBI agents who worked connected the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot probe and different national probes tied to President Trump are suing the national authorities implicit the Justice Department's plans to reappraisal the FBI's workforce and scrutinize agents who whitethorn person worked connected the delicate investigations, according to a caller tribunal filing. 

The agents are suing the Justice Department and its interim head, Acting Attorney General James McHenry, successful a people enactment suit connected behalf of each affected FBI agents. They are asking a national justice to forestall the nationalist merchandise of the names of the agents who could look scrutiny. 

Tuesday's suit is the latest salvo successful an ongoing rift betwixt vocation FBI employees and Justice Department enactment implicit the Trump administration's imaginable unit changes wrong the bureau. 

On Sunday, much than 1,000 FBI agents crossed the state were asked to implicit questionnaires astir their engagement successful the Jan. 6 and Trump probes arsenic portion of a Justice Department valuation of the workforce. On his archetypal time successful office, Mr. Trump granted clemency to astir 1,500 defendants who had been convicted of crimes connected Jan. 6.

On Friday, acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove ordered Acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll to compile a database of each existent and erstwhile FBI employees who were assigned "at immoderate time" to the Jan. 6 investigation "to find whether immoderate further unit actions are necessary," according to a memo reviewed by CBS News.

There is nary denotation yet astir what actions the Justice Department whitethorn instrumentality against anyone connected the compiled lists and truthful far, a fistful of elder vocation officials person been fired, portion rank-and-file agents stay connected the job. 

The 9 unnamed FBI agents who filed the suit connected Tuesday alleged, "The intent for this database is to place agents to beryllium terminated oregon to endure different adverse employment action."

Their attorneys asked for a assemblage proceedings and wrote that the agents feared "this database mightiness beryllium published by allies of President Trump, frankincense placing themselves and their families successful contiguous information of retribution." 

The Justice Department did not instantly respond to a petition for comment. 

McHenry besides precocious instructed the U.S. lawyer successful Washington, D.C., to occurrence definite prosecutors who had been  assigned to analyse the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, according to a abstracted memo dated Jan. 31, and reviewed by CBS News. That decision, which mostly affected declaration lawyers brought successful connected an interim ground to prosecute Jan. 6 cases, is not taxable to the caller lawsuit. 

And past week, 8 executives astatine FBI office and the heads of assorted tract offices including successful Washington, D.C., were forced to resign, discontinue oregon look termination. 

James Dennehy, adjunct manager successful complaint of the New York FBI office, wrote successful a memo to 1,200 agents and enactment unit connected Friday, "Today we find ourselves successful the mediate of a conflict of our ain arsenic bully radical are being walked retired of the FBI and others are being targeted due to the fact that they did their jobs successful accordance with the instrumentality and FBI policy."

The unit moves marque bully connected a Trump run committedness to cleanable location astatine the Justice Department. Soon aft taking office, the president signed an enforcement bid to instrumentality connected the "weaponization of the national government." 

Other attorneys and the FBI Agents Association person besides sounded the alarm connected the caller employment actions and threatened further ineligible action. 

On Tuesday, Driscoll —  who is starring the FBI connected an interim ground portion Kash Patel, Mr. Trump's nominee to beryllium director, is considered by the Senate — released a video in which helium praised the enactment of the FBI's workforce but made nary notation of the ongoing turmoil. 

"We volition ne'er instrumentality our eyes disconnected of our mission: protecting the American radical and upholding the Constitution. Because astatine the bureau, we are focused connected our work," Driscoll said. 

Scott MacFarlane

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Scott MacFarlane is simply a legislature correspondent. He has covered Washington for 2 decades, earning 20 Emmy and Edward R. Murrow awards. His reporting has resulted straight successful the transition of 5 caller laws.

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