Washington — FBI employees were ordered on Sunday to respond to a detailed list of questions regarding any work they may have performed on criminal cases related to the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump. This directive has heightened concerns among staff about a potential wave of firings at the law enforcement agency.
Chad Yarbrough, the assistant director of the Criminal Investigative Division at FBI headquarters, addressed these concerns in a weekend email seen by Reuters, stating, “I know myself and others receiving this questionnaire have a lot of questions and concerns, which I am working hard to get answers to.” The memo includes questions directing employees to disclose their job titles, their roles in the January 6 investigations, and whether they supervised such investigations. Yarbrough informed employees that their responses are due by 3 p.m. ET (2000 GMT) on Monday.
Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove dismissed eight senior FBI officials from agency headquarters on Friday, along with the heads of the Miami and Washington, D.C., field offices. Bove’s memo also requested that the FBI submit a list by Tuesday at noon ET (1700 GMT) of every employee who worked on January 6 cases, as well as those involved in a criminal case filed last year against leaders of the militant Hamas group concerning the Gaza war.
Last week, Bove terminated more than a dozen career Justice Department prosecutors who were involved in the now-dismissed criminal cases brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith against Trump. These cases include actions aimed at overturning the 2020 election results and another concerning classified government documents.
An FBI spokesperson opted not to comment on the questionnaire. Critics, including Democrats, have suggested that Trump’s team is orchestrating a purge of FBI and Justice Department officials who participated in the criminal cases against Trump and the January 6 rioters.
On Trump’s first day back in office on January 20, he commuted the sentences of 14 individuals associated with the Capitol attack and pardoned the remaining individuals, including those who violently assaulted law enforcement officers.
Acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll informed staff in an email on Friday about the order from Bove, noting that the request “encompasses thousands of employees across the country who have supported these investigative efforts.” Driscoll emphasized, “I am one of those employees, as is acting Deputy Director [Robert] Kissane.”
Despite reports of additional firings within the bureau, emails obtained by Reuters from both the FBI Agents Association and James Dennehy, the assistant FBI director in charge of the New York office, clarified that no additional personnel had been asked to resign. However, some employees began clearing out their desks on Friday due to fears they might be next, according to an email from the FBI Agents Association.
Dennehy expressed in an email, “Today, we find ourselves in the middle of a battle of our own, as good people are being walked out of the FBI and others are being targeted because they did their jobs in accordance with the law and FBI policy.” He commended Driscoll and Kissane for their efforts to support the organization, adding that aside from the specific individuals mentioned in Bove’s memo, “NO ONE has been told they are being removed at this time.”
