Trump Administration Fires Senior FBI Officials and Jan. 6 Prosecutors Amid Departmental Turmoil

Brian Driscoll, a senior FBI official who briefly served as acting director at the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, has been fired, according to two federal law enforcement sources speaking to NBC News. Driscoll had been with the FBI for nearly 20 years. His dismissal followed his resistance to a Justice Department directive that sought a list of FBI agents who had worked on January 6 cases. The directive came from then–Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, who stated in a memo that the list would be reviewed for possible firings or other personnel actions. Bove alleged that the FBI and its prior leadership had participated in what President Trump called a “grave national injustice” regarding the January 6, 2021 events at the U.S. Capitol.

Driscoll had communicated to FBI employees at the time that the request covered thousands of employees nationwide who had been involved in related investigations.

Also fired was Steve Jensen, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Washington field office, who played a significant role in the January 6 investigations. Jensen had also served as section chief of the Domestic Terrorism Operations Section at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., and had a nearly 20-year career in the bureau.

A group representing FBI agents, the FBI Agents Association (FBIAA), issued a statement condemning the firings. The FBIAA expressed being “deeply concerned” over reports that FBI special agents and senior leaders were being summarily fired without due process for conducting investigations into potential federal crimes.

These firings are part of a broader series of dismissals at the FBI that have drawn criticism from former government officials, bureau veterans, and the agents’ association, who have described them as potentially unlawful and politically motivated.

The FBI has dismissed multiple senior officials, including a former acting FBI director and a senior agent who took part in managing the agency’s response to the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Among those forced out was the ex-director who had resisted a request from former President Donald Trump’s administration to reveal the identities of FBI personnel involved in the events of January 6.

The removed senior agent had been directly involved in oversight of the investigations and prosecutions related to the Capitol attack. These changes are part of a broader wave of leadership removals within the Bureau, with additional departures anticipated.

While the FBI has not publicly detailed the reasons for each dismissal, the actions target officials who were reportedly not aligned with the Trump administration’s stance during and after the January 6 investigations. The firings signal significant internal changes at the Bureau’s senior levels in connection to how the agency handled the January 6 cases and its interactions with political leadership at the time.

Two senior FBI officials are being fired by the Trump administration, including one who helped oversee the bureau’s response to the January 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol attack. Multiple sources told CNN that Brian Driscoll, who served as acting FBI director in the weeks before current Director Kash Patel was confirmed, and Steve Jensen, the acting director in charge of the Washington Field Office, have been dismissed.

Driscoll initially resisted the Trump administration’s efforts to obtain the names of FBI agents involved in cases related to the January 6 attack. According to a memo from earlier this year, Brian Bove had requested thousands of such names for review, with the stated intent to consider firing or other personnel actions.

On Thursday, Driscoll and Jensen each informed colleagues of their dismissals, based on letters obtained by CNN. In his letter, Driscoll stated: “Last night I was informed that tomorrow will be my last day in the FBI. I understand that you may have a lot of questions regarding why, for which I currently have no answers. No cause has been articulated at this time.”

Three sources familiar with agency actions said other FBI agents perceived to have opposed Trump in the past are also being targeted for firing this week. Both the FBI headquarters and the Washington Field Office declined to comment.

The FBI Agents Association, a nonprofit organization supporting current and former agents, issued a statement on Thursday expressing deep concern about the firings and indicating it was “actively reviewing all legal options to defend our members.” The association stated that “FBI Special Agents—case agents and senior leaders alike—are going to be summarily fired without due process for doing their jobs investigating potential federal crimes.” It emphasized that agents do not choose their assigned cases, warning that firing agents without due process “makes the American people less safe” and that “agents need to be focused on their work and not on potentially being illegally fired based on their assignments.”

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) dismissed at least three federal prosecutors who had worked on criminal cases related to the January 6 Capitol riot. According to more than half a dozen current and former officials familiar with the matter, this marks the first time that career prosecutors involved in the Jan. 6 investigations—and who had completed their federal probationary periods—were fired.

A copy of one dismissal letter, reviewed by NBC News, was signed by Attorney General Pam Bondi. The letter informed the recipient that they were removed from federal service effective immediately. No explanation for the termination was included. One of the fired prosecutors had been stationed overseas. The DOJ declined to comment on the matter when contacted Friday night.

In late January, the Trump administration had previously terminated probationary federal prosecutors who worked on Jan. 6 cases, as well as some who participated in former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into then-President Donald Trump. At that time, some career prosecutors involved in Capitol siege cases were also demoted. However, Friday’s action was the first instance under Attorney General Bondi in which non-probationary, career DOJ lawyers in Jan. 6 cases were terminated.

Bondi was confirmed by the Senate in February, after the earlier wave of probationary dismissals.

The firings occur amid ongoing repercussions from the January 6 investigation and Trump’s mass pardons of several convicted rioters, including violent offenders. Numerous officials told NBC News that targeting personnel who worked on the DOJ’s largest investigation in history is having a “chilling effect” on its workforce. Some career prosecutors and FBI personnel have expressed concerns about pursuing cases against Trump allies, fearing potential repercussions from the administration.

A federal law enforcement official, commenting on the Friday firings, described them as “horrifying” and noted that some of the dismissed prosecutors had been serving in other DOJ roles prior to the 2024 election. The official criticized the lack of provided justification for the removals.

In recent weeks, the U.S. Justice Department has seen a significant wave of firings and demotions targeting officials involved in the prosecution of the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot cases. Patty Hartman, a 17-year veteran and former top public affairs specialist at the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, was fired on a Monday via a letter signed by Attorney General Pam Bondi. Hartman was the fourth official affiliated with the Jan. 6 prosecutions to be terminated recently. She described her dismissal and the wider purge as a form of retribution under the current Trump administration, initiated after President Trump installed Ed Martin, a former Jan. 6 defense attorney, as the acting top prosecutor in D.C. This move led to multiple prosecutors’ dismissals. Hartman stated, "The rules don't exist anymore" and lamented the erosion of the boundary between the Department of Justice and the White House, warning that the country is "driving straight into an abyss that holds no memory of what democracy is, was, or should be." Additionally, Greg Rosen, former chief of the Justice Department's Capitol Siege Section, resigned following President Trump's pardoning or commuting of sentences for over 1,500 January 6 defendants. Rosen described the firings and pardons as "incredibly disheartening" and expressed concern about the future integrity of the Justice Department. Another fired career prosecutor, Andrew Floyd, known for his leadership in the Capitol Siege Section, sent a poignant farewell email invoking Theodore Roosevelt's "Man in the Arena" speech. He encouraged colleagues to continue fighting for justice despite the turmoil. These developments highlight escalating tensions and a potential campaign of retribution within the Justice Department and signal significant challenges to the rule of law and the independence of federal prosecutors handling highly politicized cases related to the Capitol riot. They raise critical questions about the Department’s ability to carry out its mission impartially as it faces political interference and internal destabilization.