Washington – Three advanced FBI Officials were fired in the “Retribution Movement” last month, with the director better understanding of the Trump administration’s political pressure, but he can keep his stance, according to a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday seeking to restore agents.
Complaints and assertions Director Kash Patel Brian Driscoll, a ousted agent, pointed out directly to Brian Driscoll that he knew the dismissal was “possibly illegal” but could do nothing because the White House and the Justice Department were determined to evacuate all agents who helped investigate President Donald Trump. It quotes Patel telling Driscoll in a conversation last month FBI He did not forget about trying to put the president in jail. ”
The lawsuit is on behalf of Driscoll, Steve Jensen and Spencer EvansThis is three of five agents fired last month, and currently and former officials say it has disturbed the workforce. It represents the FBI Under Trump’s Republican administration, the leadership ladder has eliminated decades of experience. The allegations of a fired agent against a law enforcement agency have escalated, with personnel actions shaped by the White House rather than directed by public safety.
“Patel not only took illegal action, but also deliberately chose to prioritize politicization FBI The lawsuit said: “To protect the American people. FBI Most experienced operational leaders are experts in preventing terrorism and reducing violent crime. ”
spokesman FBI Refuse to comment on the lawsuit, as they did after they were removed.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court Washingtonjudges and grand jury have opposed the Trump administration’s initiative and fee decisions. It will be the defendant Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi as well FBIthe Ministry of Justice and the President’s Executive Office.
In addition to restoring the situation, the lawsuit seeks other remedies, grants paybacks, orders to declare orders illegal, and even a forum that requires them to clear their names. It points out that Patel (Patel) FBI Even though the lawsuit says there is no indication that the three lawsuits have not done so, they have been removed from leadership positions.
“This false public smear undermines the professional reputation of each plaintiff, showing that they are loyal and non-political law enforcement officers, not only causing the plaintiff’s current government job loss, but further undermining their future employment prospects,” the lawsuit said.
According to the lawsuit, the three fired officials participated and oversee some FBI The most complex work includes international terrorism investigations.
“They are the fast-ranking spikes, now FBI Not only was this example deprived, but it was deprived of very important operational capabilities,” said Chris Mattei, one of the agent’s lawyers. FBIOverall, with Brian Driscoll, Steve Jansen and Spencer Evans Be in a leadership position. ”
Another of their lawyers, Abbe Lowell, said FBI Leadership is “executing political orders to punish law enforcement officers for their work.”
Perhaps the most outstanding of the plaintiffs is Driscoll FBI Professional hostage rescue team resigned in January on then-director Christopher Wray, who confirmed in February.
In the job, he announced a well-known standoff with Emil Bove, a senior Justice official in the first few days of the Trump administration, to create demand for a series of agents investigated by Bove, a survey of January 6, 2021, and was rioted by Trump Trump supporters. Driscoll rejected the order in a dispute, leading Bove to accuse him of “disobedience.”
Driscoll survives the dispute and takes a high-profile position to oversee FBI Critical incident response teams or CIRGs are deployed to crisis. Complaint says, but new problems arose last month FBI The pilot’s duties, which were mistakenly identified on social media as a case agent in the investigation of Trump’s Mar-A-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
Driscoll was told pilot Chris Meyer would no longer fly Patel exist FBI airplane. Driscoll made the request but refused to completely strip Meyer of his pilot duties and was turned away when told that the Trump administration wanted to fire him.
The lawsuit began in early August with a conversation where Driscoll told Patel that it was illegal to fire someone based on the case assignment. According to the lawsuit, Patel said he knew the actions might be “possibly illegal” but he had to fire his boss to ask him “because his ability to retain his job depends on the ability to evacuate agents engaged in cases involving the president.”
Meyer was later fired but was not in the lawsuit Wednesday.
One of the plaintiffs Jensen was selected by Patel Washington Although Trump loyalists have opposed his earlier leadership role to coordinate investigations into the Capitol riots. Even if Jansen publicly defends FBI Patel and deputy director Dan Bongino told him they were spending “a lot of political capital” to put him in this position.
According to the complaint, Bongino told him that he would have to fire Trump-related cases from agents assigned to his office, while also investigating officials from two major political parties. That agent, Walter Giardina, was also five fired.
Another plaintiff, EvansHe said he was a leadership role in the FBI’s human resources division during the Covid-19-19 pandemic, aiming to retaliate goals, which put him in charge of reviewing accommodation requests for employees seeking exemption vaccine requirements.
The position has been exposed Evans The lawsuit regularly declares his dissatisfaction with him, criticism of him, the lawsuit says. Evans On social media and keep accessing Patel.
Evans He was told in late January that senior executives would retire or be fired, but he was given a probation and allowed him to serve as the leader of the Las Vegas field office. Despite reassurance, he was supported by Patel and Bongino, but he was told in May that he had to leave his place.
The lawsuit says on August 6, Evans Packing new ones FBI When he was fired, he was fired in Huntsville, Alabama. The reason for the statement was “lack of rationality and over-zeal” in implementing the COVID-19 program, although the lawsuit said he did not recall denying the requirement to be exempted from vaccination.
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