• FBI Director removes senior leadership from Atlanta, New Orleans, and New York offices
• As many as six Miami-based agents forced out over Mar-a-Lago search involvement
• Additional personnel dismissed for connections to Arctic Frost election investigation

WASHINGTON, DC (TDR) — FBI Director Kash Patel has removed multiple senior field office leaders and veteran agents whose careers intersected with criminal investigations into President Donald Trump, according to sources familiar with the personnel actions. The dismissals represent the latest phase in an ongoing restructuring that has targeted bureau officials connected to two major federal probes.

The removals include special agents in charge overseeing the Atlanta and New Orleans field offices, as well as the acting assistant director managing the New York field office, two individuals briefed on the matter told MSNBC. The personnel changes came without public explanation from FBI leadership about the rationale behind each dismissal.

Mar-a-Lago Search Connection Surfaces

Up to six agents working in the Miami field office were pushed out due to their involvement in the August 2022 search of Trump’s Florida resort, sources revealed. The FBI search of Mar-a-Lago recovered over 13,000 government documents, including 102 classified records seized from the property after Trump left the White House in 2021.

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The search warrant execution came after the National Archives discovered that Trump had retained numerous classified documents despite requests for their return. Federal investigators initially recovered 15 boxes in January 2022, but surveillance evidence and witness statements indicated additional materials remained at the residence.

“The FBI believed that a raid would be counterproductive, and suggested alternative, less intrusive and likelier quicker options for resolution to reclaim any potential classified records.”

However, the operation proceeded under pressure from the Justice Department, according to internal FBI emails reviewed by Fox News. Documents revealed FBI officials expressing concerns about probable cause before moving forward with the search.

Among the recovered materials were documents marked top secret, special access programs information, and nuclear weapons-related content. Former Special Counsel Jack Smith ultimately charged Trump with 40 counts related to the handling of classified materials, though those charges were dismissed after Trump’s 2024 reelection.

Arctic Frost Investigation Under Scrutiny

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Other dismissed agents had connections to Arctic Frost, the FBI’s code name for investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. The probe, launched in April 2022, examined what bureau officials described as a multifaceted conspiracy involving subjects from battleground states, the Justice Department, and the White House.

“Arctic Frost wasn’t just a case to politically investigate Trump. It was a vehicle by which partisan FBI agents and Department of Justice prosecutors could achieve their partisan ends and improperly investigate the entire Republican political apparatus.”

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley made this assertion after reviewing whistleblower documents detailing the investigation’s scope. Internal records showed the probe issued 197 subpoenas targeting approximately 430 Republican individuals and organizations.

The investigation examined the false electors scheme following the 2020 election and obtained evidence that individuals attempted to persuade former Vice President Mike Pence to support fraudulent elector certificates. Arctic Frost formed the foundation for Smith’s criminal indictment of Trump in August 2023 on charges of conspiring to overturn election results.

FBI Agents Association Condemns Actions

The FBI Agents Association, representing 14,000 agents including over 90% of active personnel, issued sharp criticism of the dismissals. The organization stated that firing agents simply for being assigned to investigations conducted within the law should never constitute grounds for termination.

“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 association’s statement referenced chaotic personnel actions in November 2025, when at least two FBI agents were told they had been fired, only to have those terminations reversed hours later before being dismissed again the following day.

“Director Patel has disregarded the law and launched a campaign of erratic and arbitrary retribution. FBI Agents deal in facts, and we urge Director Patel to do the same.”

The professional organization warned that abandoning due process erodes institutional trust and compromises public safety by forcing agents to fear losing their jobs over third-party social media posts rather than focusing on protecting Americans.

Pattern of Dismissals Emerges

The recent removals follow multiple waves of FBI personnel actions since Patel assumed leadership in February 2025. Previously fired officials include Brian Driscoll, who served as acting director before Patel’s confirmation, along with numerous agents who participated in January 6 investigations.

“You’re darn right I fired those agents, you’re darn right I blew up CR-15, the public corruption squad.”

Patel made this declaration during a Fox News interview in October 2025 after shutting down the bureau’s public corruption investigation unit, known as CR-15, following revelations that agents had subpoenaed phone records of Republican senators as part of the Arctic Frost investigation.

The director has also terminated a dozen agents who took a knee during racial justice protests in Washington following George Floyd’s 2020 killing. MSNBC reporting indicated the ongoing purge is unprecedented in the modern history of the bureau.

Whistleblowers Allege White House Direction

Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dick Durbin revealed in January 2025 that whistleblowers provided credible information suggesting Patel personally directed the removal of senior law enforcement officials even before his Senate confirmation. According to contemporaneous notes from internal meetings, White House advisor Stephen Miller pressured Justice Department officials to accelerate FBI firings.

“KP wants movement at FBI, reciprocal actions for DOJ.”

These meeting notes indicated Miller received multiple calls from Patel demanding faster personnel removals to match the pace of prosecutor dismissals at the Department of Justice. Durbin requested an investigation by the DOJ Inspector General into allegations that Patel may have committed perjury before the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding his role in the dismissals.

“Among those who were removed, so far by the Trump administration, are the top officials who oversee the FBI’s work combatting international and domestic terrorism… cybersecurity threats, human and drug trafficking, and violent crime.”

A federal lawsuit filed by Driscoll and other terminated officials alleges that Patel acknowledged firing FBI agents without cause would violate bureau policies and federal law. The complaint quotes Patel as stating that his own job depended on removing agents who worked on cases against Trump, regardless of whether those agents chose their assignments.

Timing Follows Smith Testimony

The personnel actions came hours after Jack Smith testified before Congress about his role in twice indicting Trump while serving as special counsel. During the contentious hearing, Republican lawmakers accused Smith of political bias, while Trump called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate the former prosecutor.

Smith defended his investigative approach regarding both the election obstruction case and the classified documents probe. The special counsel dropped both prosecutions after Trump’s 2024 reelection due to Justice Department policy prohibiting criminal cases against sitting presidents.

The removals also followed Patel’s statement to a conservative news outlet expressing commitment to removing any FBI personnel involved in authorizing payments to confidential sources who helped identify January 6 participants. Even before Patel’s confirmation, the Trump Justice Department had already removed most of the FBI’s senior leadership in Washington.

Will the continued removal of experienced FBI officials impact the bureau’s ability to conduct complex investigations and maintain institutional knowledge critical to national security?

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