FBI Dismisses Agents From Trump Classified Documents Case Under New Leadership

The FBI has dismissed additional agents who participated in investigating President Trump's handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. Director Kash Patel has been removing dozens of employees who worked on Trump investigations or were seen as not aligned with the administration. The FBI Agents Association says these terminations threaten national security and weaken the bureau.

WASHINGTON — Federal Bureau of Investigation officials have dismissed more agents involved in investigating President Donald Trump, specifically targeting personnel who participated in the classified documents case, according to sources with knowledge of the situation who spoke Wednesday.

These dismissals represent part of an extensive staff overhaul led by Director Kash Patel, a Trump selection who has removed dozens of bureau personnel over the past year. Those terminated either took part in Trump-related investigations or were viewed as opposing the current administration’s priorities. The Department of Justice has conducted similar widespread dismissals of attorneys since Trump returned to office last year.

The FBI Agents Association has denounced these terminations as illegal and dangerous to America’s security.

“These actions weaken the Bureau by stripping away critical expertise and destabilizing the workforce, undermining trust in leadership and jeopardizing the Bureau’s ability to meet its recruitment goals — ultimately putting the nation at greater risk,” the association said in a statement.

The most recent wave of dismissals affected personnel who assisted in examining Trump’s possession of classified materials at his Mar-a-Lago estate, an investigation that featured a widely publicized FBI raid of the Florida location and culminated in federal charges against the current president for retaining confidential government documents from his initial presidency and blocking official recovery attempts.

Multiple sources confirmed these dismissals to The Associated Press under condition of anonymity due to restrictions on discussing personnel decisions publicly. Several sources indicated approximately 10 employees lost their jobs, with one source stating at least 10 were dismissed.

The bureau has previously terminated agents involved in a different investigation examining Trump’s attempts to reverse the 2020 election outcome. This probe also generated criminal charges, but similar to the Mar-a-Lago matter, special counsel Jack Smith dropped the case following Trump’s November 2024 electoral victory due to established Justice Department policies preventing the prosecution of serving presidents.

These dismissals became public on the same day Patel told Reuters that the FBI during the Biden presidency had requested his phone records along with those of current White House chief of staff Susie Wiles. Patel indicated this occurred during 2022 and 2023 when both were private citizens.

Federal prosecutors subpoenaed Patel in 2022 for grand jury testimony in Washington regarding the Mar-a-Lago investigation, and he testified after receiving immunity protection, as previously reported by the AP.