White House Exerts Enormous Influence Over F.B.I., Lawsuit Says

[riversedge]

White House Exerts Enormous Influence Over F.B.I., Lawsuit Says

A sprawling suit by three fired F.B.I. officials provides a disturbing account of efforts by top Trump aides to strip the bureau of its independence.


https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/10/us/politics/trump-fbi-lawsuit.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare


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A lawsuit filed by three former F.B.I. officials charges the bureau director Kash Patel dismissed them as part of “a campaign of retribution” for their “failure to demonstrate sufficient personal and political loyalty.”Credit...Francis Chung/Politico, via AP Images
Alan FeuerGlenn Thrush

By Alan Feuer and Glenn Thrush Sept. 10, 2025Updated 2:22 p.m. ET

The White House has exerted extraordinary influence over decisions at the F.B.I., issuing political loyalty tests and directly ordering the firings of agents targeted by President Trump and his allies, according to a lawsuit filed on Wednesday by three former bureau officials who accused the administration of illegally dismissing them.



...........Mr. Driscoll, Mr. Jensen and Mr. Evans, who were all fired last month, are asking a judge to reinstate them and declare their dismissals in violation of federal civil service protections and their constitutional rights to free speech and due process.

Their experiences added to the already troubling picture of the war that Mr. Trump has carried out against those inside government who are perceived to have opposed his administration and its agenda. Waves of retributive firings and demotions have taken place inside federal agencies, including the Health and Human Services Department, the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Reserve.

The F.B.I. has been the target of some of the most severe attacks because of Mr. Trump’s belief that the bureau wrongly investigated him for an array of purported malfeasance. Mr. Trump has never forgiven the agency for examining the connections between Russia and his 2016 presidential campaign or for helping the special counsel Jack Smith to prosecute him for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his mishandling of classified documents after he left office............................

This is incredibly dangerous! trump can sic the FBI on anyone for any reason. #ProudBlue

White House Exerts Enormous Influence Over F.B.I., Lawsuit Says www.nytimes.com/2025/09/10/u...

— Raven Song Farm (@ravensongfarm.bsky.social) 2025-09-10T17:53:46.800Z

[msongs]

1. DEI hire Kashyap is trump's poodle

[Bernardo de La Paz]

2. Ka$h "Party Animal" Patel is too out of it to call the FBI Agent on the scene in CO before tweeting

He barely remembers which agency he is running.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

3. 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