WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Two agents fired from the FBI last year said in a that they were terminated 鈥渟olely鈥� because of their participation in an investigation into President Donald Trump’s effort to
The two agents, identified as John Doe 1 and John Doe 2 in the lawsuit, are part of a broader group of employees fired over the past year for their role in the election investigation known as Arctic Frost. Their lawsuit is the latest in a under FBI Director Kash Patel that has targeted agents who either or were perceived as out of step with the administration鈥檚 agenda.
The agents say they were abruptly terminated last fall despite spotless disciplinary records and 鈥渆xemplary鈥� ratings on performance reviews. Both say they were given no explanation but that the terminations came soon after Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who along with other Trump allies has asserted that Arctic Frost was politically motivated, released unredacted Justice Department documents related to the investigation that exposed one of the agents’ names.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, seeks reinstatement and a court declaration that the terminations were unlawful.
鈥淧laintiffs鈥� terminations were unlawful because they were based on a perception that Plaintiffs were not political supporters of President Trump,鈥� the lawsuit states. 鈥淧olitical support for President Trump is not a legal or appropriate requirement for the effective performance of Plaintiffs鈥� respective roles within the FBI. Accordingly, perceived lack of political support for President Trump is an impermissible basis for termination of Plaintiffs鈥� FBI employment.鈥�
The FBI declined to comment.
One of the fired agents in the lawsuit said he was about to go trick-or-treating with his children last Halloween when he was summoned to the FBI’s Washington field, where he worked, and given a termination notice. Days later, the other agent, described in the lawsuit as either the only case agent or the most senior case agent on active local public corruption cases, was similarly summoned and told that, he, too, was being fired.
鈥淚n Arctic Frost, as in all other investigations to which they were assigned, Plaintiffs fully adhered to DOJ policies and procedures, including applicable statutory and regulatory requirements, and executed their law enforcement duties without bias or political motive,鈥� the lawsuit says.
One of the two fired agents joined the FBI more than 20 years ago, specialized in white-collar, public corruption and fraud cases and received a Medal of Excellence for his performance, the lawsuit says. The other agent graduated from the FBI Academy in 2018 and at the time of his firing was working on public corruption cases and had directly briefed Patel on a particular investigation.
The agents were assigned for a time to a supporting, rather than leading, role in the investigation into Trump’s efforts to remain in power following his 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
One of the agents’ lawyers, Margaret Donovan, said in a statement that Patel went back on a promise not to fire agents based on the cases they were assigned. She said her clients 鈥渨ere among the Bureau鈥檚 finest, and they deserve better.鈥� Added another of their lawyers, Elizabeth Tulis: 鈥淭hese agents did exactly what they were trained to do: they accepted an assignment from their supervisors and carried it out professionally and apolitically.鈥�
Other fired employees who have sued include agents who were and a group of senior officials, including the former acting director of the FBI, who were terminated last summer. The firings have continued, with Patel last month pushing out a group of agents in the Washington field office who had been involved in investigating Trump’s retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida after his first term.
Testifying before a House committee Thursday, Patel brushed aside Democratic concerns that the dismissal of counterintelligence agents with expertise in Iran could weaken national security at a time when the U.S. is at war with Tehran.
鈥淭here鈥檚 36,000 people employed at this FBI. And I reject the notion wholeheartedly that the termination of those that were weaponizing law enforcement are the only ones that can do the mission,鈥� Patel said.
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