FBI agents fear vengeance from Trump — over assignments they couldn’t refuse, suit says
Thousands of FBI employees were involved in investigations related to President Donald Trump and the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, according to a new federal lawsuit that seeks to protect agents from retribution the president promised to take against them.
Scores of FBI agents were told to fill out a survey on Feb. 2 about their roles on Jan. 6, 2021, and in the Mar-a-Lago case — when Trump was investigated for government documents kept at his Palm Beach estate in Florida, the lawsuit says. They were notified that a list of their names will be given to “upper management,” according to a complaint.
Nine FBI agents, who worked on those cases, filed the lawsuit against the Justice Department in response on Feb 4 in an effort to stop this, saying information gathered in the survey could be publicized and used to retaliate against those the Trump administration views as disloyal.
These agents were told they’re likely to be fired soon “for such activity,” a complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia says.
The complaint points out that FBI agents don’t have the authority to turn down certain case assignments.
“FBI agents are tasked by their chain and command and leadership team, and are not free to refuse assignments based on their political or personal preferences,” the complaint says.
A similar lawsuit that intends to stop the Trump administration from potentially identifying agents who were ordered to complete the survey about their investigative work was filed the same day by the FBI Agents Association.
A day after the lawsuits’ were filed, Acting U.S. Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove told FBI employees that they wouldn’t be fired for investigating Jan. 6 as part of assigned duties, Reuters reported.
“Let me be clear: No FBI employee who simply followed orders and carried out their duties in an ethical manner with respect to January 6 investigations is at risk of termination or other penalties,” Bove wrote in a Feb. 5 memo reviewed by Reuters.
“The only individuals who should be concerned ... are those who acted with corrupt or partisan intent.”
The FBI agents suing the Justice Department fear that if a list of about 6,000 agents involved in Trump and Jan. 6 investigations is released, vengeance from now-pardoned, convicted Jan. 6 defendants — and the president himself — will follow, putting themselves and their families at risk.
The FBI declined a request for comment from McClatchy News on Feb. 6. A spokesperson said the agency doesn’t comment on pending litigation. Lawyers representing the Justice Department didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
“FBI special agents who risk their lives protecting the country from criminals and terrorists are now being placed on lists and having their careers jeopardized simply for doing their jobs,” FBI Agents Association President Natalie Bara said in a Feb. 4 news release.
The non-profit association is made up of 14,000 current and former FBI special agents.
“It is clear that the threatened disclosure is a prelude to an unlawful purge of the FBI driven solely by the Trump Administration’s vengeful and political motivations,” attorney Chris Mattei, of Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder who represents agents from the FBIAA, said in a statement.
The questionnaire sent out to FBI agents
According to the FBI Agents Association’s lawsuit, about 6,000 FBI employees are potentially being “targeted” for illegal termination.
A mass firing of agents “would be catastrophic to national security,” the complaint says.
The questionnaire sent to agents who were ordered to answer questions about their work in connection with Jan. 6 was to be completed by 3 p.m. on Feb. 3, according to the complaint.
Screenshots of this survey were attached to the other lawsuit as an exhibit.
The FBIAA’s complaint says that, “strangely,” agents who were told to complete the survey “did little to no work on January 6 investigations, while others who did work January 6 investigations did not receive a survey request.”
Both lawsuits accuse the Trump administration’s Justice Department of violating the First Amendment for retaliation based on “perceived political affiliation,” as well as violations of the Fifth Amendment and the Privacy Act.
“Donald Trump has made repeated public pronouncements of his intent to exact revenge upon persons he perceives to be disloyal to him by simply executing their duties in investigating acts incited by him and persons loyal to him,” the lawsuit filed on behalf of nine FBI agents says.
They’re represented by attorney Scott Michael Lempert, of the Center for Employment Justice.
The FBI agents want the court to put an end to the gathering and potential publication of information that’d link them to the Jan. 6 and Mar-a-Lago cases.
“Should this information fall into the wrong hands, the national security of the Unite(d) States would be severely compromised.”
This story was originally published February 6, 2025 at 12:12 PM with the headline "FBI agents fear vengeance from Trump — over assignments they couldn’t refuse, suit says."
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