FBI Agents File Lawsuit Over Identification Concerns in January 6 Investigations
A group of FBI agents has filed a lawsuit to prevent the public identification of those involved in the January 6 investigations, citing fears of retaliation following the pardoning of related criminal defendants.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., questioned FBI director nominee Kash Patel on President Donald Trump's decision to pardon roughly 1,500 criminal defendants charged in the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
A group of nine FBI agents filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking to block the public identification of any FBI employees who worked on the Jan. 6 investigations into the U.S. Capitol riots. They described the efforts as potentially retaliatory against personnel involved in the probe.
The plaintiffs, who filed the lawsuit anonymously in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, claimed that any discrimination against FBI employees involved in the Jan. 6 investigations would be "unlawful and retaliatory," violating civil service protections under federal law.
The lawsuit referenced a questionnaire that employees were required to complete, detailing their specific roles in the investigations into the Jan. 6 riots and the Mar-a-Lago investigation led by former special counsel Jack Smith.
The lawsuit noted, "Some Plaintiffs were required to fill out the survey themselves, others were told that their supervisors would be filling out the form," adding that employees "were informed that the aggregated information is going to be forwarded to upper management."
It continues, "Plaintiffs assert that the purpose for this list is to identify agents to be terminated or to suffer other adverse employment action. Plaintiffs reasonably fear that all or parts of this list might be published by allies of President Trump, thus placing themselves and their families in immediate danger of retribution by the now pardoned and at-large Jan. 6 convicted felons."
President Donald Trump declined to answer questions on Monday regarding whether his administration would remove FBI employees involved in the investigation, only stating his belief that the bureau is "corrupt" and expressing confidence that his nominee for FBI director, Kash Patel, will "straighten it out."
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2)/broccoli-recall-02032025-6-e705644b4e384e1ab61eb00a0625f736.jpg)
