At least five high-ranking leaders at the FBI, who were promoted by former Director Christopher Wray, have been told they will be demoted or reassigned.
This change is part of a broader shift that started last week at the Justice Department, which is located near the FBI headquarters.
These senior officials are responsible for areas like cyber security, national security, and criminal investigations.
The leadership changes have caused concern within the FBI because these officials did not take part in the legal cases against Donald Trump, which have upset the president.
Many FBI agents who were investigating the January 6th Capitol attack and Trump’s handling of classified documents are worried they might face punishment or could be forced out of their jobs, similar to what has happened to many lawyers at the Justice Department.
These changes show how the new administration is quickly acting on President Trump’s promise to respond to what he calls the abuse of power at the FBI.
Trump has made false accusations against FBI agents regarding their search of his Mar-a-Lago home and their treatment of the people involved in the Capitol riots.
Some FBI agents believe the criticism is unfair because they do not choose their assignments; it is part of their job.
Many agents have conservative views and were not comfortable being assigned to cases related to the Capitol attack and Trump, thinking that the prosecutions were too strict. Some lawyers working on the January 6 cases felt that the FBI agents sometimes did not work quickly enough.
The FBI has not commented on this situation.
Recently, officials from the FBI Agents Association met with Kash Patel, who is nominated to be the new FBI director.
They shared their concerns and asked him to protect agents who were just doing their jobs investigating violent crimes. Patel listened but did not provide any guarantees.
During a Senate hearing about his nomination, Patel said he is not aware of any plans to punish FBI agents involved in Trump’s investigations.
When asked by Democratic Senator Cory Booker about potential punishments, Patel responded, “I am not aware of that, senator.”
Patel also denied accusations that he would take revenge on political opponents, despite suggesting that in other media interviews.
He said he wants to ensure that the FBI is not used for political purposes: “Every FBI employee will be held to the same standard, and no one will be terminated for case assignments.”
Some agents who searched Mar-a-Lago as part of the investigation into Trump’s classified documents have received threats after their names were shared online by Trump’s supporters.
The atmosphere inside the FBI has been tense since before Trump became president. For example, Paul Abbate, who was the deputy director and acting director of the FBI, resigned on Inauguration Day, a day when national security was very important.
The Trump transition team appointed two senior agents to take over the roles of acting director and deputy director. Christopher Wray, who was chosen by Trump, resigned nearly three years before his term ended after Trump indicated he would fire him.
After Trump took office, Tom Ferguson, a former agent and aide to Representative Jim Jordan, started working at the FBI as a policy adviser.
Jordan has been critical of the FBI and has led a group looking into what he calls the misuse of government agencies, including the FBI.
