FBI leaders allege in lawsuit they were unlawfully fired over political loyalty

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The former acting director says a Trump administration official asked a series of questions, including “Who did you vote for?”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/09/10/trump-fbi-fired-lawsuit-loyalty/

Driscoll, promoted to the temporary post despite refusing to answer most of the questions, detailed the episode in a federal lawsuit Wednesday in which he and two other former senior FBI officials allege they were ultimately fired by Kash Patel, the eventual FBI director, for unlawful and politically motivated reasons that often appeared to be in response to social media posts from far-right critics.

“Patel not only acted unlawfully but deliberately chose to prioritize politicizing the FBI over protecting the American people,” the lawsuit states. “His decision to do so degraded the country’s national security by firing three of the FBI’s most experienced operational leaders, each of them experts in preventing terrorism and reducing violent crime.”

The FBI declined to comment, and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The lawsuit was also filed against Patel, Attorney General Pam Bondi and the entire federal government. The former FBI officials allege in the lawsuit, which was filed in Washington, that Patel suggested that the White House ordered him to carry out terminations across the FBI.

This is the first lawsuit from former FBI agents that challenges the administration’s unprecedented government employment terminations. It provides a rare view into how politically appointed leaders allegedly dismantled long-standing norms and appeared determined to indiscriminately fire anyone whom they deemed possibly disloyal to the president.....

The other two fired FBI officials who filed the lawsuit — Steven Jensen, head of the FBI’s Washington field office, and Spencer Evans, who led the Las Vegas field office — recounted similar experiences.

Jensen had been a target of right-wing critics online because of his involvement in the Capitol riot investigations. Still, the lawsuit alleges that Patel and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino supported Jensen and sent him numerous complimentary notes about his work

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1. MaddowBlog-Will the GOP's 'weaponization' panel care about the allegations in the new FBI lawsuit?

If Republicans are still looking for evidence of a weaponized FBI, led by operatives aligned with their political allies, I have some good news for them.

If Republicans are still looking for evidence of a weaponized FBI, led by political operatives aligning the bureau with their partisan allies, I have some very good news for them.

If only Jim Jordan and his cohorts would pretend to care... www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-09-11T18:23:45.780Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/will-gops-weaponization-panel-care-allegations-new-fbi-lawsuit-rcna230654

Throughout Donald Trump’s second term, the FBI has been purging those deemed insufficiently loyal to the president and his agenda, but the campaign reached new depths last month. As part of an unsubtle revenge tour, three experienced bureau officials found themselves unemployed, including Brian Driscoll, a widely respected figure among rank-and-file agents who was fired after he helped prevent a mass firing of thousands of FBI officials who worked on Jan. 6 cases.....

A month later, Dilanian and MSNBC’s Carol Leonnig reported on a new federal lawsuit that alleges that FBI Director Kash Patel, a brazen Trump loyalist, “knowingly broke the law when he fired senior FBI executives at the behest of the White House and under pressure from Trump allies.” From the article:

The 68-page complaint was filed by former acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll and two other fired FBI leaders who claim they were the targets of 'politically motivated retribution' and are seeking 'to vindicate their constitutional and legal rights.' The suit cites a series of alleged conversations involving Patel and other senior Trump advisers that, if true, show an FBI leadership consumed by the whims of a Trump White House that targeted employees solely for political reasons.

.....The lawsuit added that the director acknowledged that firing FBI agents without cause would violate internal FBI rules and federal law — and he knew that he was opening the door to a likely lawsuit, though that didn’t stop him.

Patel “stated that his own job depended on the removal of the agents who worked on the cases against the President, regardless of whether the agents chose to work on those cases or not,” the lawsuit says......

But it’s against this backdrop that three former FBI leaders, effectively playing the role of whistleblowers, have filed a detailed lawsuit that appears to document the very problem that Republicans intended to prove: The bureau, the litigation alleges, really has become corrupted and weaponized by partisan operatives who’ve quietly aligned the bureau with their political allies.

There’s no shortage of questions, but near the top is this one: Will the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, chaired by Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, express even the slightest interest in this case? Especially since this appears to be exactly the kind of information they claimed they were looking for?

It’s possible that the GOP-led panel will surprise me, act in an even-handed way and schedule lengthy hearings to examine the allegations in more detail, but I seriously doubt it.

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2. Former top FBI officials sue, say Kash Patel fired them to stay in Trump's good graces

The suit, which names Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi, was filed by former acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll as well as Steven Jensen and Spencer Evans.

Former top FBI officials sue, say Kash Patel fired them to stay in Trump's good graces share.google/LrLNXmrecC1N...

— Eloise Powers (@elnopower.bsky.social) 2025-09-10T20:19:15.372Z

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/former-top-fbi-officials-sue-say-kash-patel-fired-stay-trumps-good-gra-rcna230369

Three former top FBI officials sued FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday, saying their firings were mandated by the White House and Department of Justice and that Patel followed their orders to keep his job.

Patel, the suit claimed, "explained he had to fire the people his superiors told him to fire, because his ability to keep his own job depended on the removal of the agents who worked on cases involving the President. Patel explained that 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.'"

Patel also stated that the firings were retaliatory, according to the lawsuit, which alleges that he told Driscoll that "all FBI employees who they identified who had worked on the cases against President Trump would be removed from their jobs, regardless of their retirement eligibility status.”

According to the lawsuit, Patel — a Trump loyalist and former White House and DOJ official — told Driscoll that he knew such firings violated FBI rules designed to protect agents from being fired or otherwise retaliated against for having worked on specific investigations.

“Patel acknowledged that this would be in direct violation of internal FBI processes," the lawsuit says. "He again commented that he knew the nature of the summary firings were likely illegal and that he could be sued and later deposed."

The admissions by Patel were documented and will make this a fun case

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3. It looks like that trump will need to be deposed in this case

This will be fun to watch

[meow2u3]

4. Trump will need to be deposed, all right

Deposed, as in impeached, removed from office, and brought to swift justice!

[UTUSN]

5. K&R

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6. This lawsuit will be fun to watch