FBI agents, forced to complete Trump questionnaire on Capitol Riot investigations, sue Justice Department

(FBI agents sue to stop DoJ from identifying staffers who investigated Trump, Image credit: X)

You may have heard that since assuming the office of President of the United States, Donald Trump – as in his first term as president – has once again weaponized the Department of Justice and is using that once non-political agency as his personal police force – which is ironic considering he claimed the DoJ and the FBI had been weaponized against him from 2020 – 2024 when he was being investigated, tried, and convicted of a variety of now well-known felonious crimes.

Trump is currently on a revenge and retribution hunt for those he feel wronged him for his criminal wrongdoings after he lost the 2020 presidential election.  He is especially targeting Media outlets and the FBI. 

The President’s office demanded that all FBI employees involved in any fashion with the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol complete a survey and in-depth questionnaire as to what those agents’ involvements were regarding the January 6 investigations.  The White House also said that depending on the results of those surveys, firing of agents may be necessary.

The questions, which were described to The Associated Press by a person familiar with the matter, asked employees to describe their office and title and to specify their involvement in the Jan. 6 investigations, including whether they participated in search warrants, conducted interviews and testified at trial. About 4,000 FBI employees completed those questionnaires.

Interestingly, yesterday, a group of FBI agents sued the U.S. Justice Department in a lawsuit , asking a federal judge to step in and stop the publication of a list they say the bureau is actively compiling of agents who worked on Jan. 6 cases or helped investigate President Donald Trump while he was criminally indicted.  The Huffington Post reports that the lawsuit makes an explosive claim: that personal identifying information about some of these agents has appeared on the so-called dark web. 

“It has been widely reported that Elon Musk and persons working with him have recently attempted to access government databases that house personal information, without regard to security protocols, and without a legitimate business purpose,” wrote attorneys Pamela Keith and Scott Lempert with the Center for Employment Justice. “Plaintiffs legitimately fear that the information being compiled will be accessed by persons who are not authorized to have access to it, and who lack the requisite security clearances to handle such information.” 

The lawsuit goes on to allege that “politically motivated and unlawful” firings directed by Trump started in earnest at the Justice Department on Feb. 1, and that FBI agents learned via teleconference the next day that they would likely see a similar purge unfold when they were asked to complete a survey about their activities related to the Jan. 6 cases. 

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Also yesterday, a coalition of 20 State Attorneys General sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, urging the Senate to require Kash Patel, President Trump’s nominee for FBI Director, to return for further questioning before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The request follows alarming reports of politically motivated firings at the FBI and efforts to compile a list of agents involved in investigating the January 6 Capitol riots.

“Enforcing the rule of law should be beyond partisan politics,” said Maryland’s Attorney General Brown. “If a nominee is politically motivated to fire hardworking civil servants who have spent their careers working to keep our country safe, U.S. Senators deserve to know that before voting to confirm him. 

The attorneys general note how critical it is for Patel to address recent reports of politically motivated firings at the FBI. “Shortly after his confirmation hearing, we learned from news reports that more than a dozen high-ranking FBI officials were fired, and that the FBI is developing a list of all agents and staff who worked investigations and prosecutions related to the January 6th Capitol riots. It is critical for Mr. Patel to answer questions about this unprecedented attack on the FBI before Senators vote on his confirmation.”

The letter raises additional concerns over reports that “the Administration plans to fire at least six high-ranking career FBI officials if they do not retire” and that “acting deputy attorney general Emil Bove directed FBI staff to compile a list of all staff who were ‘assigned at any time to investigations and/or prosecutions’ relating to the January 6th riots.” The attorneys general state, “If true, this is a purge of FBI employees.”

The attorneys general stress that before any confirmation vote, “the United States Senate should know what Mr. Patel plans to do with the list of FBI agents and staff that is currently being compiled.”

“Purging over 6,000 FBI agents and staff will have disastrous effects on public safety across the country and will make our communities more dangerous. FBI employees and staff protect America from the public safety harms that President Trump listed in his executive orders—fentanyl, the Mexican Cartels, foreign terrorist organizations, and harms to American’s pocket books.”

Beyond the FBI purge, the letter condemns additional attacks on law enforcement by the Trump administration, stating, “The President’s efforts to undermine the FBI follow unprecedented attacks on our country’s public safety. In just two weeks, the President has fired United States Attorneys, pardoned rioters who killed and injured Capitol Police Officers, and attempted to cut off funding for law enforcement across the country.”

The letter continues, “Further, Congress must question Administration officials on the scope of pardoning Capitol rioters, and its attempts to dismiss pending cases against January 6th rioters. At least one judge has already found that the dismissals will harm public safety and are unjustified.”

Now is the time for Congress to act. Over the past two weeks, President Trump has taken actions that make our country less safe. Attorney General Brown believes that Congress must act to protect Americans and hold the Administration accountable. The first step is requiring Mr. Patel to answer questions about the pending FBI purge before a confirmation vote.

Joining Maryland Attorney General Brown in sending the letter are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington.

You can see a copy of that letter, as provided.

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Source: Office of the Maryland Attorney General

Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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