• Association condemns termination and reinstatement cycle as agents fired twice within 24 hours
• Four employees linked to Jack Smith investigations ultimately removed despite initial reversals
• Statement accuses Patel of launching campaign of erratic and arbitrary retribution against agents

WASHINGTON, D.C. (TDR) — The FBI Agents Association issued a rare public rebuke of Director Kash Patel Tuesday, condemning what the organization characterized as “chaos” following the agency’s termination, reinstatement, and subsequent re-firing of multiple agents involved in investigations related to President Donald Trump.

At least two FBI agents learned Monday they had been fired, only to be told later that day their terminations were reversed or placed on hold, according to six people familiar with the decisions. By Tuesday morning, those agents discovered they were fired again, along with two additional employees.

Agents targeted over Trump investigations

Since January, Patel has fired multiple agents who worked on investigations with former Special Counsel Jack Smith on cases involving Trump or the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Several of those terminations were later reversed, Reuters reported, before being reinstated.

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The four employees terminated this week were tied to Smith’s probe and an earlier FBI investigation known as “Arctic Frost,” which examined efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Some affected agents’ names were included in unredacted documents released by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA).

“The actions yesterday — in which FBI Special Agents were terminated and then reinstated shortly after, and then only to be fired again today — highlight the chaos that occurs when long-standing policies and processes are ignored.”

The FBI Agents Association statement continued: “An Agent simply being assigned to an investigation and conducting it appropriately within the law should never be grounds for termination. Director Patel has disregarded the law and launched a campaign of erratic and arbitrary retribution.”

Prosecutor intervened to stop firings

Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., initially intervened Monday to halt the dismissals, according to CNN reporting. The former Fox News host turned federal prosecutor insisted the ousters would hamper work on ongoing cases. Despite her intervention, the firings proceeded Tuesday.

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Patel has pushed out numerous senior officials and agents involved in investigations or actions that angered the Trump administration. In October, he announced the dismantling of CR-15, the FBI group that investigated public corruption and assisted in Smith’s probe, calling it “weaponized law enforcement against the American people.”

Lawsuit alleges White House pressure

Three ousted high-ranking FBI officials sued Patel in September, accusing him of caving to political pressure to carry out a “campaign of retribution.” The lawsuit, filed by former acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll, former Washington field office head Steven Jensen, and former Las Vegas field office chief Spencer Evans, alleges Patel told officials he had to fire agents his superiors identified because his own job depended on it.

According to the complaint, Patel said “there was nothing he or Driscoll could do to stop these or any other firings, because ‘the FBI tried to put the President in jail and he hasn’t forgotten it.'” The lawsuit argues the White House improperly pressured the DOJ to terminate the plaintiffs.

Altogether, dozens of FBI agents, prosecutors, and other Department of Justice employees have been forced out of their jobs, developments that have been criticized as undermining the independence of the DOJ and creating ethical concerns.

The association added in its statement that the firings “set a dangerous precedent” and warned: “FBI Agents must be free to focus on protecting the American people, not fear losing their jobs over third party social media posts.”

During his confirmation hearing in January, Patel testified that “no one will be terminated for case assignments,” a promise that contrasts sharply with the ongoing personnel purge targeting agents connected to Trump-related investigations.

Should FBI directors be able to fire agents for their involvement in legally authorized investigations of political figures?

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