A joint letter requesting congressional leaders protect Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agents from political retribution was submitted Monday, February 3, in response to recent actions taken by President Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ). The letter was sent by:
- Judge William Webster, former director of the FBI and former director of the Central Intelligence Agency;
- the FBI Agents Association (FBIAA), a voluntary professional association representing more than 14,000 active and retired FBI Special Agents;
- Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA), the largest nonpartisan, nonprofit professional association, exclusively representing federal law enforcement officers throughout the United States; and
- the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI, a fraternal educational and community-minded organization composed of former FBI Special Agents.
On January 31, the Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove terminated eight officials from the FBI’s senior leadership team, including the heads of the Washington and Miami field offices. Additionally, the FBI was ordered to compile lists of all current and former personnel who worked on investigations related to January 6, 2021, as well as a Hamas-related case, to determine whether those individuals should face additional personnel actions.
The FBIAA and fellow advocates wrote to Congress to express their concerns about these actions and the repercussions to the FBI’s critical work, stating “[it’s] creating dangerous distractions, imperiling ongoing investigations, and undermining the Bureau’s ability to work with state, local, and international partners to make America safe again.” FBI employees also reported being ordered to fill out a questionnaire detailing their work on cases related to the Capitol riot.
The letter appealed to the leaders of the House and Senate to ensure that DOJ “follow established disciplinary procedures that provide the necessary due process and transparency to our nation’s law enforcement officers.” They also repeated the confirmation hearing statement of Kash Patel, President Trump’s nominee for FBI Director, that Special Agents not be terminated or disciplined for carrying out their case assignments.
Read the full Joint Letter to Congress on the FBI.