While the fear of mass shots swirls in the FBI, the acting director Brian Driscoll and a group of FBI agents defended the workers of the office in messages to the staff on Saturday and continued to repel the apparent efforts of the Trump administration to force FBI officials.
On Friday, Trump welcomed the dismissals of eight best FBI career leaders and forgiven almost all the rioters of January 6, including those who attacked police, a few hours after his entry for his second term.
In a message to FBI staff on Saturday evening, the acting director of the FBI, Driscoll, said that the Trump administration was looking for the names of each FBI agent who worked on the investigations of January 6 – a number he said in thousands of people.
“I want to assure you that we continue to work with the Ministry of Justice to better understand the objective for which the lists I have referenced yesterday are sought,” wrote Driscoll.
Legal experts, as well as the current and former FBI officials, say that the Trump administration seems to carry out an unprecedented remote campaign against prosecutors and officials of the application of laws that have worked on the criminal surveys of the Former president and his supporters who stormed the Capitol in January 6th.
“This is completely unexplored waters,” said Douglas Charles, professor of the state University of Pennsylvania, specializing in the history of the FBI. “There were times, different points when the FBI was reorganized. It is not that … it seems to be a wholesale dismantling of the independent culture of the FBI. »»
Trump’s choice for FBI director Kash Patel promised during his Senate confirmation audience on Thursday that “all FBI employees will be protected against political remuneration”.
But a little more than twenty-four hours later, Emil Bove, the assistant prosecutor general general and the former Trump’s defense lawyer, ordered Driscoll to withdraw the eight best FBI career leaders and asked the Names of all the agents who worked in the cases of January 6.
If the patel is confirmed by the Senate, it could immediately remove Driscoll and collect the names of the agents who worked in the cases of January 6. Patel could place these agents on administrative leave, transfer them to new positions or try to dismiss them. The exact date of the confirmation vote of the Patel Senate is not publicly known.
The association of agents issues advice
Saturday, the FBI Agent Association, an organization which represents agents but which is not a union, published a declaration expressing its concern about what they say to be additional efforts to force the FBI agents to quit smoking .
“There are several among our ranks that are extremely afraid of being removed – and some of them have started to pack their office,” a bulletin for FBI members Association agents.
The message from the FBI Association of FBI agents has given advice to the agents on what to do if they believe they may be dismissed.
“Do not resign and do not suggest you resign,” said the message. “Although we never plead for physical non-compliance, you must be clear that your deletion is not voluntary.”
“Stay calm and absorb to make all the statements that could be deemed to violate the Hatch law,” he added, referring to the law which prohibits federal officials from engaging in polic activities. “If you are told that you will be terminated, make sure you get the notice of dismissal in writing and send us as soon as possible.”
In his message on Saturday, Driscoll stressed that the agents do not choose the cases which are assigned to work, and he said that the simple fact of working on a controversial case is not proof of misconduct.
“As a special career agents – and colleagues employed by the FBI – we know first -hand that none of us is assigned to questions according to anything other than the responsibilities of the roles in which we serve”, he wrote. “So that it is absolutely clear that we only consider anyone’s identification on one of these lists as an misconduct.”
He continued by saying that FBI agents have public service protections if they are referred for discipline. The rules are designed, in part, to prevent interference from elected officials in the office’s criminal surveys.
“This well-established process guarantees both responsibility and offers employees a regular procedure and an appropriate revision in accordance with existing policy and law,” he added. “This process and our intention to follow it have not changed.”
Friday, the Society of former FBI agents also criticized apparent efforts to force civil servants.
“We are very disturbed to learn that FBI employees are subject to requests for resignation or retirement or are faced with an immediate summary dismissal,” said the organization. “A regular procedure required.”
Friday, Driscoll refused to go hand in with an effort to dismiss a greater number of agents involved in the cases of January 6 with force with force that some feared that it was dismissed, told NBC News, current and former FBI officials.
In a message that was widely circulating among office staff, an FBI agent summarized what happened as: “In the end – the Doj came and wanted to draw a bunch of J6 agents. Driscoll is an absolute stud. Held his terrain and said to WH Proxy, Doj, to F — OFF. »»
A former FBI official who knows that Driscoll said: “He pushed strong.”
A senior FBI official challenged the accounts of current and former officials saying: “This is not true.”
