FBI ousts more top leaders who investigated President Donald Trump, reports say
One of those ousted, media reports say, was Brian Driscoll, the former acting FBI director who refused to carry out Trump administration orders to identify and potentially fire FBI agents who had investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
That probe also looked into President Donald Trump's potential role in the assault as he sought to stay in office after his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden.
More: Senate Democrat: Kash Patel 'may have committed perjury' denying link to FBI purge
Another top official forced out was Steve Jensen, who has been head of the FBI's Washington, D.C., field office, one of its largest. In an Aug. 7 letter to colleagues, disclosed by MSNBC, Jensen said he was informed the night before 'that my employment with the FBI will be terminated effective tomorrow, August 8, 2025.'
Both men sent messages to their colleagues saying they had been notified late Aug. 6 that Friday, Aug. 8, would be their last day in the bureau, according to MSNBC, which posted what it said were parts of the messages.
'I understand that you may have a lot of questions regarding why, for which I currently have no answers,' Driscoll said of his ouster in his note, MSNBC said. 'No cause has been articulated at this time. Please know that it has been the honor of my life to serve alongside each of you.'
Driscoll was named acting director in January to replace Christopher Wray and served while FBI Director Kash Patel was going through the Senate confirmation process. He made headlines for resisting Trump administration demands to turn over the names of agents from around the country who participated in the sprawling Jan. 6 investigations as part of an effort to fire or force them out of bureau.
'Our collective sacrifices for those we serve is, and will always be, worth it,' Driscoll also said in his farewell note, MSNBC reported. 'I regret nothing.'
Driscoll, a veteran counterterrorism agent, had recently led the bureau's Hostage Rescue Team and served as acting director in charge of the Critical Incident Response Group, which responds to fast-moving crisis situations.
Also forced out were special agents Walter Giardina and Christopher Meyer, both of whom had worked on FBI cases involving Trump, the New York Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The Times said that Giardina's wife died last month of cancer, and that he worked on a case that sent Trump trade advisor Peter Navarro to prison.
USA TODAY was unable to independently confirm the personnel actions.
The FBI declined to comment when asked about the reported ousters, which follow other high-profile personnel purges in recent months under Patel and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino.
The FBI under Trump has moved to aggressively demote, reassign or push out many agents from their positions at FBI headquarters and field offices throughout the U.S., despite Patel's claims that he would not politicize the department.
Asked if he would go after FBI officials and agents at his January confirmation hearing, Patel promised there would be 'no politicization' or retribution at the FBI under his watch.
"Senator, my answer is simply I would never do anything unconstitutional or unlawful, and I never have in my 16 years of government service," Patel said.
Soon after, a key Senate Democrat said Patel 'may have committed perjury' in testifying that he didn't know about the purge of FBI top officials that had already begun.
'I hope that what I reveal today from credible whistleblowers at the highest levels will give my Republican colleagues some pause before it's too late,' said Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee.
Patel was confirmed along party lines.
Another veteran FBI agent, Michael Feinberg, has gone public to say he was told to resign or accept a demotion amid scrutiny of his friendship with a lead agent on the FBI's long-running Trump-Russia investigation, which looked at Kremlin interference in the 2016 election.
Other agents at headquarters and field offices have been forced out, demoted or reassigned after being linked to investigations that touched on Trump.
More: FBI staff ordered to reveal their role in Jan. 6 investigations by Monday
The FBI Agents Association said it was 'deeply concerned by reports that FBI Special Agents − case agents and senior leaders alike − are going to be summarily fired without due process for doing their jobs investigating potential federal crimes.'
'Agents are not given the option to pick and choose their cases, and these Agents carried out their assignments with professionalism and integrity,' the association said in a statement. 'Most importantly, they followed the law.'
The agents association said there is supposed to be a review process that takes place when employment actions are taken against agents, and that it was 'established so that the FBI could remain independent and apolitical.'
'FBI leadership committed − both publicly and directly to FBIAA − that they would abide by that process. We urge them to honor that commitment and follow the law.'The agents association said it was 'actively reviewing all legal options to defend our members.'
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26 minutes ago
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