The FBI has fired two agents who worked on former special counsel Jack Smith’s criminal investigations into Donald Trump, one of whom was just months away from being eligible for retirement.
The agency also took disciplinary action against a third FBI agent who worked in connection with Smith’s federal probes into Trump’s hoarding of classified documents and his actions in and around the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, NBC News reported.
All three agents were identified in documents obtained by Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, regarding Smith’s “Arctic Frost” team.
The FBI reportedly shut down the division after the team allegedly analyzed phone records from several Republican senators as part of the federal investigation into Trump’s alleged attempt to overturn the 2020 election results, and fired multiple staff members in the process.
One of the agents dismissed under FBI Director Kash Patel was a combat veteran just months away from retirement. The firing could now torpedo the agent’s access to a government pension, a source told The New York Times.
“They tracked the communications of GOP senators. They weaponized law enforcement against the American people. That era is over,” Patel posted on X while sharing a Fox News headline about the dismantling of Arctic Frost.
“We fired those who acted unethically, dismantled the corrupt CR-15 squad, and launched an investigation. Transparency and accountability aren’t slogans, they’re promises kept.”
Stacey Young, a former Justice Department lawyer who founded Justice Connection, a support network for current and former DOJ employees, criticized the firings, which come as Trump continues his revenge campaign, demanding prosecutions of his political enemies.
“This administration is firing FBI agents who push back on direct orders from their superiors, while also firing agents who accepted assignments given to them in a prior administration,” Young told NBC News.
“Line agents can’t do their jobs if they’re in constant fear that any action they take could result in termination. They deserve better.”
Trump had pleaded not guilty to all charges stemming from Smith’s classified documents and Jan. 6 investigations, and the president repeatedly dismissed the probes as politically motivated “witch hunts.”
Both cases effectively ended after Trump’s 2024 election victory, as the DoJ has a longstanding policy against prosecuting sitting presidents.
The Daily Beast has contacted the FBI for comment.
