A massive shake-up is underway at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), with dozens of agents facing dismissal amid a fallout from investigations into President Donald Trump. The purge, which is expected to affect hundreds of agents, has been condemned by Senator Dick Durbin, who described it as a “brazen assault on the rule of law.”
The FBI agents in question were involved in investigations into Trump’s supporters who stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. The agents are being “evaluated for possible removal,” according to CNN, which cited people briefed on the matter. The Washington Post reported that officials are working to identify potentially hundreds of FBI agents for possible termination.
The Justice Department has already fired a number of officials involved in the prosecutions of Trump, citing a lack of trust in their ability to implement the president’s agenda. The FBI’s acting director, Brian Driscoll, has reportedly refused to approve the mass firings. The FBI Agents Association has also condemned the move, stating that it would “severely weaken the Bureau’s ability to protect the country from national security and criminal threats.”
The purge is seen as a major blow to the FBI’s integrity and effectiveness, and has raised concerns about the politicization of the law enforcement agency. Senator Durbin described the move as “a brazen assault on the rule of law that also severely undermines our national security and public safety.”
The fallout from the investigations into Trump has already led to the resignation of Special Counsel Jack Smith, who brought two federal cases against the president. The cases were dropped after Trump’s reelection, in line with a Justice Department policy of not prosecuting a sitting president.
