Trump Admin Takes Revenge on FBI Agents Who Probed Him and Jan. 6ers
It’s the latest power move by the president, who promised he would hit back at the Justice Department and FBI if re-elected.
SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Donald Trump’s administration is expected to soon fire “dozens” of FBI agents who probed him and those involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, incident at the U.S. Capitol.
The would-be purge may be carried out as soon as Friday, CNN reports, less than two weeks into the 78-year-old’s second White House term.
Trump repeatedly raged against the FBI and Justice Department while out of office, alleging they were weaponized against him by Joe Biden and Democrats.
Among Trump’s biggest gripes was how the FBI carried out a raid at Mar-a-Lago in 2022, during which his Florida estate was inspected—and photographed—by dozens of agents who arrived unannounced.
Those agents were seeking proof that Trump was still in possession of classified material from his first stint in the White House. Trump was indicted after the raid, but the case was dropped after he won last year’s election.
Get the best of The Beast delivered right to your inbox
By clicking “SUBSCRIBE” you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Now, the federal agents involved in that probe may soon find themselves out of a job.
Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Justice Department.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Interim leaders in the DOJ spent this week making a list of agents “whose work at the bureau has earned disfavor with Trump for a variety of reasons,” CNN reported.
The network added the agents who find themselves in the president‘s alleged black book “may be asked to resign or face termination.”
If true, Trump’s cleaning house at the FBI would be eerily similar to what his team pulled off at the Justice Department last week, which included mass resignations and reassignments.
The forthcoming FBI purge won’t be limited to individual agents, CNN reports. At least six senior leaders have also been ordered to “retire, resign, or be fired by Monday.”
Kash Patel faced a grilling from senators at his FBI confirmation hearing this week.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
These moves come as Trump’s controversial nominee to lead the bureau, Kash Patel, is still facing confirmation by the Senate. He will be replacing Christopher Wray—a lifelong Republican whom Trump appointed during his first term but grew to hate well before he was being probed by the bureau.
The FBI Agents Association reacted to the expected firings in a statement to CNN.
“If true, these outrageous actions by acting officials are fundamentally at odds with the law enforcement objectives outlined by President Trump and his support for FBI Agents,” the nonprofit wrote. “Dismissing potentially hundreds of Agents would severely weaken the Bureau’s ability to protect the country from national security and criminal threats and will ultimately risk setting up the Bureau and its new leadership for failure.”
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.