Politics may have spurred August purge of 5 veteran FBI agents

Latest quality connected FBI firings

Latest quality connected FBI firings by Trump administration 02:35

When the FBI fired 5 seasoned agents earlier this month, Director Kash Patel offered nary explanation.

Shock astatine the firings has continued to reverberate done the storied agency. And now, details are emerging astir the imaginable motivation, respective sources adjacent to the agents archer CBS News.

"There is simply a despicable purge underway of elder FBI officials, each of whom person risen successful their careers arsenic nonpartisan, and who person been targeted for vindictive, governmental purposes," said Mark Zaid, a whistleblower lawyer who represents a fig of national workers dismissed nether President Trump.

Without immoderate nationalist remark from FBI oregon Justice Department officials, the agents, including, Brian Driscoll, who served for a abbreviated clip arsenic acting director astatine the commencement of the Trump administration, and Steven Jensen, caput of the almighty Washington tract office, were summarily fired and fixed small mentation for their removal. None had reached status age, meaning the abrupt dismissals volition deprive them of their afloat pensions. One agent's expulsion came a period aft his woman died of cancer. 

CBS News spoke with aggregate sources adjacent to the agents for this story. All of those interviewed spoke connected the information they not beryllium identified for fearfulness of retribution.

By outward appearances, erstwhile acting FBI manager was successful bully standing 

Some of the agents whitethorn person been targeted solely due to the fact that they worked connected 1 oregon much of the transgression investigations of Mr. Trump, portion others who were ousted successful an earlier spate of firings worked connected the Biden administration's Jan. 6 investigations, sources adjacent to the agents said. But the astir elder agent, Driscoll, by outward appearances, was successful bully lasting with Patel.

Driscoll, a highly decorated cause who took portion successful galore daring counterterrorism operations, began his abbreviated stint arsenic acting manager with what galore agents viewed arsenic a singular enactment of bravery, resisting calls from a apical Trump appointee astatine the Justice Department to turn implicit the names of FBI employees who had participated successful the Jan. 6 investigation. Nevertheless, Patel kept Driscoll connected aft his Senate confirmation, putting him successful a high-profile station arsenic caput of the bureau's Critical Incident Response Group, which oversees the FBI's elite Hostage Rescue Team and its aviation unit. 

Jensen, a seasoned cause who helped oversee the Jan. 6 probe from his presumption arsenic main of the FBI's home coercion section, was fixed a important promotion by Patel to beryllium the adjunct manager successful complaint of the Washington Field Office, 1 of the largest outposts successful the country.

One root with cognition of the substance told CBS News that Patel relied connected some agents and peculiarly admired Driscoll, whom helium viewed arsenic a swashbuckling tactical operator. Another said that the FBI manager opposed immoderate of the firings. "I deliberation Kash tried to prevention these people, honestly," the root said.

Yet determination are besides immoderate indications that some men whitethorn person crossed FBI enactment implicit loyalty and unit matters. 

Some agents fishy governmental interference

Zaid is portion of a squad of lawyers preparing to writer the national authorities connected behalf of immoderate of the fired FBI agents. He told CBS News helium suspects extracurricular governmental interference. 

"If you look astatine Patel's grounds from his confirmation proceeding erstwhile helium promised the committee determination would beryllium nary politicization oregon retribution astatine the FBI nether his leadership," Zaid told CBS News, "you person to reason that helium was either lying or, giving him the payment of the doubt, that helium was directed to instrumentality these actions, and that could lone travel from the White House oregon the Justice Department."

Patel promised senators during that hearing, "There volition beryllium nary retributive actions taken by immoderate FBI, should I beryllium confirmed arsenic FBI director."

Democrats connected Capitol Hill spot the firings arsenic baldly governmental and damaging to U.S. nationalist security. Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the vice seat of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said successful a connection to CBS News that helium believes agents should beryllium commended for their quality to enforce the instrumentality impartially.

"When we commencement purging agents for doing their jobs, alternatively of toeing a partisan line, we weaken our defence against everything from convulsive transgression to overseas threats, and that makes america each little safe," Warner said.

When asked who ordered the termination of the agents, the FBI declined to comment. A White House authoritative deferred to the FBI to sermon bureau unit matters. 

"The suspendables" 

There are different factors that person led immoderate sources adjacent to the agents and lawyers representing them to question whether the abrupt removals were the effect of extracurricular governmental interference, perchance by the White House.

One question surrounds the relation of a tiny set of right-leaning erstwhile agents who clashed with FBI enactment nether directors James Comey and Christopher Wray and person been vocal critics of a bureau they judge was "weaponized" against them.  

Among them is Kyle Seraphin, 1 of respective erstwhile FBI agents and whistleblowers who were suspended oregon had their information clearances revoked for alleged misconduct during the Biden administration. The erstwhile agents, including Seraphin, person referred to themselves arsenic "the suspendables." They person been targeting FBI officials they judge to beryllium politically motivated. 

Seraphin has been among the astir outspoken – and effectual – members of the group. He has astatine times been captious of Patel for not aggressively and swiftly cleaning location astatine the bureau, but helium has besides had Patel's ear. Sources accidental helium exercises sizeable power from his societal media perch connected X and his podcast, "The Kyle Seraphin Show."

Seraphin has publically claimed immoderate of the recognition for past week's purge. On August 4, helium posted a thread connected X nether the heading "VETTING CRISIS CONTINUES," successful which helium identified 1 of the fired agents, Christopher M. Meyer. Meyer had been serving arsenic 1 of the pilots of the governmental planes utilized by Patel until helium was notified of his termination. 

Seraphin had publically speculated, correctly it turned out, that Meyer had antecedently been connected a squad based successful the Washington Field Office that investigated Mr. Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents and conducted a hunt of Mr. Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate. The Justice Department brought transgression charges against Mr. Trump implicit the find of documents, but a justice yet dismissed the case.

Seraphin told CBS News successful an interview, "I identified that the idiosyncratic that ran the Mar-a-Lago lawsuit that resulted successful a hunt warrant astatine the president's location was rubbing shoulders successful adjacent proximity with the FBI director" arsenic his pilot. He was acrophobic that "this is simply a idiosyncratic that's present successful the benignant of buddy abstraction of your FBI director, and helium doesn't adjacent cognize who he's speaking to." 

On Alex Jones's "InfoWars" helium said helium gave a "heads up" to an "administration insider" astir Meyer. He told CBS News his "Trump medication insider" was "in the president's orbit." 

How the firings unfolded

On that aforesaid day, Patel directed Driscoll to occurrence Meyer, sources told CBS News. When Driscoll asked connected what grounds, helium did not get what helium considered a satisfactory reply from Patel, according to the source.  Without itr, Driscoll refused. Two days later, connected Aug. 6, Driscoll was contacted by J. William Rivers, the No. 3 authoritative astatine the FBI, and told helium was being terminated, the root said. He was fixed nary crushed wherefore but aboriginal received a missive formally notifying him that helium was being fired.  

Around the aforesaid time, Jensen was besides relieved of his duties. A root with cognition of that substance said it was due to the fact that he, too, refused to occurrence a subordinate cause successful the Washington Field Office, though CBS News was not capable to place the person. Walter Giardina, a WFO agent  who was besides dismissed successful the purge, had worked connected a fig of cases involving Mr. Trump and different members of his administration, including the prosecution of elder Trump adjutant Peter Navarro for contempt of Congress. 

The 5th cause fired earlier this period was Spencer Evans, who had been the peculiar cause successful complaint of the FBI's Nevada tract bureau until earlier this summer, erstwhile helium was abruptly told helium was being transferred to Huntsville, Alabama. By then, Trump supporters, including Seraphin, had been publically captious of him implicit his enforcement of FBI COVID policies during the tenure of erstwhile FBI Director Christpher Wray.

In April, Seraphin posted this connected X: 

"After @Kash_Patel was nominated, helium asked maine astir radical successful the FBI who were problems. I said Spencer Evans, the SAC of Las Vegas, was the antheral who PERSONALLY denied the spiritual accommodations for Covid 19 shots and investigating protocols."

Seraphin's station continued: "Kash said 'Gone.'" 

Seraphin attached a video to his station that showed that months aft that conversation, Evans was inactive starring the Las Vegas FBI office, and Patel was praising its enactment successful tracking down criminals.

Then, past Wednesday, 2 hours earlier getting into his car to thrust crossed the state for his caller assignment, Evans received a telephone notifying him that helium excessively was being terminated. He was fixed nary reason. 

Two days aboriginal Evans received a ceremonial termination missive signed by Patel. It said Evans "demonstrated a deficiency of reasonableness and overzealousness successful the implementation of COVID-19 protocols and policies." 

After the August firings, Seraphin told CBS News a workfellow successful the FBI said to him, "You person 4 scalps hanging disconnected your loop this week." Seraphin excluded Driscoll from the count, and referred to him arsenic "collateral damage," and said helium astir apt didn't merit to beryllium fired.  

Graham Kates contributed to this report.