At least six FBI agents who worked on the case involving the 2022 search of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida were fired on Wednesday, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation.
The agents were fired after FBI Director Kash Patel told Reuters that phone records belonging to him and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles had been subpoenaed by the FBI.
Patel and Wiles were both private citizens in 2022 and 2023 when the records were collected amid special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation of Trump’s handling of classified information, according to the Reuters article.
The FBI did not respond to ABC News request for comment about the agents fired or the Reuters story.
The FBI Agents Association said in a statement the firings were unlawful.
“The FBIAA condemns today’s unlawful termination of FBI Special Agents, which –like other firings by Director Patel — violates the due process rights of those who risk their lives to protect our country,” the organization said in a statement. “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.”
