FBI Expels More Agents Linked to Trump 2020 Election Probe Amid Mounting Internal Turmoil

The FBI has intensified its internal shake-up by firing additional agents and supervisors involved in the federal investigation into former President Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke to the Associated Press.

The dismissals went ahead Tuesday despite an unusual intervention from Washington’s top federal prosecutor, D.C. US Attorney Jeanine Pirro, who attempted to halt at least some of the firings earlier in the week. The employees were initially informed they would be terminated, then briefly reinstated before being dismissed again — a reversal whose cause remains unclear. The exact number of agents removed has not been disclosed.

The move is part of a sweeping personnel purge under FBI Director Kash Patel, who has pushed out several officials and field agents associated with politically sensitive investigations that angered the Trump administration. Patel — appointed after Trump returned to the White House — is already facing lawsuits from three high-ranking former FBI officials who accuse him of enforcing a “campaign of retribution” driven by political demands.

Neither Patel nor Pirro responded to requests for comment.

The FBI Agents Association issued a sharply worded statement condemning the latest terminations, accusing Patel of “disregarding the law” and destabilizing the agency.
“The actions yesterday — in which FBI Special Agents were terminated and then reinstated shortly after, only to be fired again today — highlight the chaos that occurs when long-standing policies and processes are ignored,” the association said. “An agent simply being assigned to an investigation and conducting it appropriately within the law should never be grounds for termination.”

The investigation into Trump’s 2020 election interference, which led to special counsel Jack Smith’s indictment of the former president, has been at the center of a fierce political and institutional battle in Washington. Republican lawmakers have claimed the Justice Department weaponized the probe against conservatives, while whistleblowers inside the bureau describe escalating pressure to punish those who worked on it.

Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley recently released internal FBI documents showing that investigators examined phone records of several Republican members of Congress as part of the inquiry — a move now being cited by Trump allies as proof of government overreach.

The Justice Department has dismissed multiple prosecutors tied to the special counsel’s office, and the FBI has similarly removed senior officials over unrelated misconduct or political friction — including the former head of its Washington field office and agents photographed kneeling during a 2020 racial justice protest.

The latest firings deepen unrest inside the bureau, where morale has reportedly plunged amid fears of further politically motivated dismissals. More legal challenges from ousted agents are expected in the coming weeks, setting the stage for a high-stakes clash over the future independence of the FBI.