As part of a legal settlement, the Trump Department of Justice (DOJ) has agreed to not publicly out the FBI agents who’d worked on Jan. 6th cases.
Last month, acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove ordered the FBI to start compiling the names of every FBI agent who’d worked on a Jan. 6th case.
It’s suspected that a LOT of FBI agents were involved in the cases:
MADDOW: “If they are going to try to purge every FBI agent who took part in any one of these well over 1,000 [Jan 6th] cases, that’s kind of the whole FBI” pic.twitter.com/LpxZWhpS6a
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) February 1, 2025
In response, attorneys for two separate groups of FBI employees filed suit Tuesday demanding the agency stop compiling the names of Jan. 6th agents.
“Attorneys for nine of the plaintiffs [part of one group], who filed their suit anonymously in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, said the compilation of the list was retaliatory and a possible precursor for unlawful firings,” according to The Washington Post. “Using case assignment information as a basis to terminate FBI employees would violate civil service protections, they said.”
“The lawsuit also raises concerns that Trump administration officials might make public the names of the agents who were assigned to work on the cases, exposing them and their families to retribution from now-pardoned defendants charged in the Jan. 6 attack,” the Post’s reporting continues.
The other seven plaintiffs and the FBI Agents Association, a nonprofit advocacy group, filed a similar suit.
Two days after they filed suit, a DOJ lawyer told U.S. District Judge Jia M. Cobb that the department wasn’t interested in making the list public.
“He said the list would be used for an internal study, citing an executive order Mr. Trump issued on his first day in office demanding a Justice Department review of what the administration described as the ‘weaponization’ of law enforcement under President Biden,” according to The New York Times.
Cobb responded by issuing an order preventing the DOJ from publicly releasing the names of Jan. 6th agents while negotiations between the DOJ and the plaintiffs continued.
The following day, the DOJ reached a “consent order” agreement with the plaintiffs whereby the department agreed to not publicly out the Jan. 6th agents unless a two-day notice is given so that the plaintiffs’ lawyers have time to raise a challenge in court.
Natalie Bara, the president of the FBI Agents Association, was pleased with the agreement.
“This is an important step in the right direction to protect those who protect us — FBI agents who have dedicated their careers to upholding the rule of law and defending our country,” she said in a statement. “This agreement provides critical safeguards, preventing immediate public exposure or retaliation and ensuring that FBI Agents can remain focused on protecting the American people. We appreciate the court’s recognition of the serious concerns at stake.”
Christ Mattei, an attorney for the association, issued his own statement as well.
“The Court’s order ensures that FBI Agents who are keeping our country and our communities safe can continue to do their jobs without fear of public exposure or retaliation,” he said. “We will continue to do everything in our power to protect the FBI community from retaliation and appreciate that the Court treated this matter with the urgency it deserves.”
As for President Trump, he admitted at a news conference Friday that he intends to target “some” Jan. 6th FBI agents with termination.
“I’ll fire some of them because some of them were corrupt,” he said. “I have no doubt about that. I got to know a lot about that business, that world. I got to know a lot about that world. And we had some corrupt agents, and those people are gone, or they will be gone and it will be done quickly and very surgically.”
Listen:
President Trump on FBI agents who worked on Jan. 6-related cases: “I’ll fire some of them, because some of them were corrupt. I have no doubt about that.” pic.twitter.com/inx5Gz3mGP
— {Matt} $XRPatriot (@matttttt187) February 8, 2025
A dozen or so DOJ employees who worked on former special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Trump were already terminated last month.
Then-acting Attorney General James McHenry said they were terminated because he “did not believe these officials could be trusted to faithfully implement the president’s agenda because of their significant role in prosecuting the president.”
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.