Two Senior FBI Officials Fired for Resisting Trump’s Capitol Attack Investigation Efforts
Two senior officials within the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), including one who initially resisted attempts by the Trump administration to identify agents involved in investigations related to the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack, have reportedly been terminated.
Brian Driscoll, acting director prior to Kash Patel’s confirmation as Director of the FBI, is being let go, according to multiple sources. Steve Jensen, head of the Washington Field Office, is also being dismissed, confirmed by two separate sources.
The administration is reportedly terminating other agents within the bureau this week who were perceived to have opposed Trump in the past, according to three sources with knowledge of the agency’s actions.
Neither the FBI nor its Washington field office responded to requests for comment. The New York field office was also contacted but did not immediately provide a statement.
In the early days of the second Trump term, at least six senior officials at the executive assistant director level or special agent in charge level – including those overseeing cyber, national security, and criminal investigations – were ordered to retire, resign, or be fired.
Earlier this year, a plan to swiftly dismiss more than 100 mid-level and senior employees resulted in a weeklong standoff between then-acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove and Driscoll. This dispute led to internal protests within the agency against the decision.
The conflict prompted Trump to appoint Dan Bongino, a loyalist podcaster, as deputy director of the FBI. However, Bongino recently considered resigning from his post following the administration’s handling of documents and information related to Jeffrey Epstein.
Emil Bove requested earlier this year the names of over 100 FBI agents involved in January 6 cases for review, with potential firing or “personnel actions” mentioned in a memo at the time.
“The FBI — including the Bureau’s prior leadership — actively participated in what President Trump appropriately described as ‘a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated on the American people over the last four years’ with respect to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021,” Bove stated.
In response, Driscoll informed all bureau personnel that this request affected thousands of employees nationwide who supported these investigative efforts.
Both Driscoll and Jensen have served with the FBI for nearly 20 years, holding various roles including leadership positions across the country. In 2020, Jensen served as section chief of the Domestic Terrorism Operations Section at FBI Headquarters in Washington, while Driscoll was commander of the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team and special agent in charge of the Newark Field Office.
Jensen was initially listed among attendees at a Justice Department press conference on the indictment of shooting incidents involving Israeli embassy staff members earlier this year. However, he was not present, and US Attorney Jeanine Pirro declined to comment on his departure during the event.
“I’m not going to talk about politics today. I’m talking about crime. I’m talking about hate crimes, and that’s the extent of it,” she stated.
Kara Scannell and Kristen Holmes of CNN contributed to this report. This story has been updated with additional developments.