By Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The FBI Agents Association on Tuesday lambasted FBI Director Kash Patel, after the bureau fired, unfired and then re-fired several FBI agents who had worked on cases targeting U.S. President Donald Trump or his allies.
“Director Patel has disregarded the law and launched a campaign of erratic and arbitrary retribution,” the association said in a statement.
After the FBI fired at least two agents last week who had worked for Special Counsel Jack Smith’s “Arctic Frost” investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, it continued on its firing spree on Monday.
At least four more FBI agents who worked on Smith’s cases or on cases related to the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol were then terminated on Monday, reinstated later in the day and then abruptly terminated a second time on Tuesday, three sources familiar with the matter said.
Washington, D.C.’s U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro on Monday sought to reverse at least some of the firings, lobbying the FBI not to remove one agent in particular who was in the middle of investigating a public corruption case, two of the sources added.
Spokespeople for the FBI and Pirro did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
More than 200 people have been fired from the Justice Department since Trump took office in January. Of those, dozens worked on criminal cases related to Trump or his allies.
Several former FBI officials, including former Acting Director Brian Driscoll, have since filed a lawsuit challenging their termination, and accusing the administration of orchestrating a politically motivated personnel purge.
The Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee, meanwhile, has been releasing records from Smith’s investigation that include the names of Justice Department or FBI personnel who were involved. Most of those people have since been terminated, and many of them have also been targeted online by pro-Trump social media accounts.
“FBI agents must be free to focus on protecting the American people, not fear losing their jobs over third-party social media posts,” the association said.
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)
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