Former FBI Agents Sue Over Firings Linked to Trump Election Probe

Two former FBI agents filed a federal lawsuit claiming they were wrongfully terminated for participating in the investigation into Trump's 2020 election challenges. The agents, who had exemplary records, say they were fired without explanation last November under FBI Director Kash Patel's leadership.

WASHINGTON — A pair of former FBI agents have filed a federal lawsuit claiming their terminations last year were directly connected to their involvement in investigating former President Donald Trump’s attempts to challenge the 2020 election results.

The agents, referred to as John Doe 1 and John Doe 2 in court documents filed Thursday, allege they were dismissed exclusively due to their work on the election investigation called Arctic Frost. Their case represents the most recent legal challenge against a wave of personnel dismissals under FBI Director Kash Patel’s administration, targeting agents connected to Trump-related investigations or those viewed as conflicting with current leadership priorities.

According to the lawsuit, both agents received abrupt termination notices in November despite maintaining clean disciplinary histories and receiving outstanding performance evaluations. The agents claim no reasons were provided for their dismissals, which occurred shortly after Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley published unredacted Justice Department materials that revealed one agent’s identity. Grassley and other Trump supporters have characterized Arctic Frost as politically driven.

Filed in Washington’s federal court, the legal action demands job reinstatement and a judicial ruling declaring the firings illegal.

FBI officials have refused to provide comment on the matter.

The lawsuit describes how one terminated agent received his dismissal notice while preparing to take his children trick-or-treating on Halloween at the FBI’s Washington field office where he was employed. Several days afterward, the second agent — described as either the sole case agent or most senior agent handling active local corruption investigations — received similar termination orders during a comparable meeting.

“In Arctic Frost, as in all other investigations to which they were assigned, Plaintiffs fully adhered to DOJ policies and procedures, including applicable statutory and regulatory requirements, and executed their law enforcement duties without bias or political motive,” the lawsuit says.

Court documents reveal one dismissed agent brought over two decades of FBI experience, focusing on white-collar crime, public corruption, and fraud investigations while earning a Medal of Excellence for outstanding work. The second agent completed FBI Academy training in 2018 and was handling public corruption cases at the time of his firing, having personally briefed Patel on specific investigations.

Both agents served in supporting capacities during the investigation into Trump’s post-2020 election activities aimed at maintaining power after losing to Democrat Joe Biden.

Attorney Margaret Donovan, representing the fired agents, stated that Patel broke his commitment not to terminate agents based on their case assignments. She described her clients as being “among the Bureau’s finest, and they deserve better.” Fellow attorney Elizabeth Tulis added: “These agents did exactly what they were trained to do: they accepted an assignment from their supervisors and carried it out professionally and apolitically.”

Additional lawsuits have emerged from agents dismissed after being photographed kneeling during 2020 racial justice demonstrations and from senior leadership, including a former acting FBI director, who were terminated last summer. The dismissals have accelerated, with Patel recently removing Washington field office agents who investigated Trump’s handling of classified materials at his Mar-a-Lago Florida property following his presidency.

During Thursday testimony before a House committee, Patel dismissed Democratic lawmakers’ concerns that firing counterintelligence specialists with Iran expertise could compromise national security amid ongoing U.S.-Iran tensions.

“There’s 36,000 people employed at this FBI. And I reject the notion wholeheartedly that the termination of those that were weaponizing law enforcement are the only ones that can do the mission,” Patel said.