1 of 3 | The FBI headquarters is based in Washington, D.C. There are more than 13,000 agents and 38,000 total FBI employees nationwide. Image courtesy FBI.
Feb. 5 (UPI) — FBI agents who “simply followed orders and carried out their duties in an ethical manner” while investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot will not face the risk of being fired, a top Justice Department official said in a memo Wednesday.
Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, who was appointed by President Donald Trump after serving as his personal attorney, sent the memo after sending another email, with the subject line “Terminations,” that gave a Tuesday deadline for the FBI to turn over a list of those involved in Jan. 6 investigations.
“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 the message, a copy of which was obtained by NPR and The Hill. “The only individuals who should be concerned about the process initiated by my January 31, 2025 memo are those who acted with corrupt or partisan intent, who blatantly defied orders from Department leadership, or who exercised discretion in weaponizing the FBI.”
The details of more than 5,000 employees were submitted, including employee ID numbers, job titles and their role in the Jan. 6 investigations, but not their names in response to the email. The FBI includes more than 13,000 agents and 38,000 total FBI employees.
Nearly 1,600 rioters were convicted, and all were pardoned or had their sentences commuted by Trump when he became president on Jan. 20. About 300 cases were pending in court.
On Wednesday, Bove gave some assurance to uneasy agents fearing a purge.
Acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll had noted in a letter to agents that the request for information on those who worked on the Jan. 6 cases would impact thousands of employees, including himself.
Bove had said his directive to FBI leadership was ignored, calling it “insubordination.”
This led to a survey sent to all FBI employees asking that they detail what actions they took in the Jan. 6 cases.
“In light of acting leadership’s refusal to comply with the narrower request, the written directive was intended to obtain a complete data set that the Justice Department can reliably pare down to the core team that will be the focus of the weaponization review pursuant to the Executive Order,” Bove said.
“The memo stated unambiguously, and I stand by these words, that the information requested was intended to ‘commence a review process’ that will be used to ‘determine whether any additional personnel actions are necessary.”
Fired were the top five career leadership employees in the department as well as the heads of several field offices. There are 55 field offices.
“The FBI — including the bureau’s prior leadership — actively participated in what President Trump appropriately described as ‘a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated on the American people over the last four years,'” Bove wrote in that memo.
The FBI and Justice Department have been sued to block the dissemination of survey results, saying the agents could face “vigilante justice.”
The FBI is without a permanent director as Kash Patel awaits likely confirmation. He has said he will review the work of agents.
Department of Justice
Pam Bondi was sworn in as the new attorney general Wednesday by conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas with Trump watching.
“We’re going to make America safe again,” eight-year former Florida attorney general said at the White House.
And Trump said: “I know I’m supposed to say she’s going to be totally impartial with respect to Democrats, and I think she will be as impartial as a person can be. I’m not sure if there’s a possibility of totally, but she’s going to be as total as you can get. But she’s going to be fair, and she’ll lead the Department of Justice in crushing violent crime, demolishing the gangs, which are all over the place.”
Bondi intends to issue memos on curbing the so-called weaponization of the Justice Department, a source familiar her plans told CNN.
These will include the review of criminal and civil cases against Trump, including the two federal cases brought by the Biden Justice Department with special counsel Jack Smith.
And career DOJ officials will not be able to base their actions on their political views.
“The discretion afforded Justice Department attorneys with respect to those responsibilities does not include latitude to substitute their personal political views or judgments for those that prevailed in the election,” the memo reads.
At least 20 high-level, career prosecutors across the department were removed from posts, CNN has reported.
Acting Attorney General James McHenry wrote in a letter to them they not could be “trusted” to “faithfully” implement Trump’s agenda.
The letter said the employees may appeal the decisions to the federal Merit Systems Protection Board.
The DOJ includes more than 115,000 employees, including 10,000 attorneys in 94 districts. The U.S. attorneys are appointed by the president and require confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
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