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“Trump administration officials ordered eight senior FBI employees to resign or be fired, and asked for a list of agents and other personnel who worked on investigations into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, people familiar with the matter said, a dramatic escalation of Trump’s plans to shake up U.S. law enforcement.
On Friday, the Justice Department also fired roughly 30 prosecutors at the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington who have worked on cases stemming from Capitol riot, according to people familiar with the move and a Justice Department memo reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. The prosecutors had initially been hired for short-term roles as the U.S. attorney’s office staffed up for the wave of more than 1,500 cases that arose from the attack by Trump supporters.
Trump appointees at the Justice Department also began assembling a list of FBI agents and analysts who worked on the Jan. 6 cases, some of the people said. Thousands of employees across the country were assigned to the sprawling investigation, which was one of the largest in U.S. history and involved personnel from every state.
Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove [my note - Bove is one of Trump’s personal lawyers who represented Trump against DOJ and FBI in the Smith cases] gave Federal Bureau of Investigation leadership until noon on Feb. 4 to identify personnel involved in the Jan. 6 investigations and provide details of their roles. Bove said in a memo he would then determine whether other discipline is necessary.
Acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll said in a note to employees that he would be on that list, as would acting Deputy Robert Kissane.
“We are going to follow the law, follow FBI policy and do what’s in the best interest of the workforce and the American people—always,” Driscoll wrote.
Across the FBI and on Capitol Hill, the preparation of the list stirred fear and rumors of more firings to come—potentially even a mass purge. …”
