AP Report: The FBI is firing agents who worked on the investigation into classified Trump documents

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI has fired additional agents who worked on the investigation into President Donald Trump, this time terminating staffers who were involved in the investigation into the Republican’s hoarding of classified documents, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

The firings are part of a broader staff purge under Director Kash Patel, a Trump appointee, who over the past year has fired dozens of employees who either contributed to investigations into the president or who were seen as inconsistent with the administration’s agenda. The Justice Department has engaged in widespread firings of prosecutors since Trump took office last year.

Read more: Judge permanently blocks release of special counsel Jack Smith’s report on classified Trump documents issue

The FBI Agents Association condemned the dismissals as illegal and endangered national security.

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

The latest round of terminations involved employees who helped investigate Trump’s retention of secret documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort, a case that involved a high-profile FBI search of Florida properties and resulted in a federal trial accusing the sitting president of keeping top-secret records from his first term in office and obstructing government efforts to recover them.

Read more: Jack Smith defends criminal investigations into Trump during House hearing

The firings were confirmed to The Associated Press by several people familiar with the matter who spoke anonymously because they could not discuss the personnel moves publicly. Several people said a total of 10 employees were fired, and one said at least 10 were fired.

The FBI also fired agents who were involved in a separate investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. That investigation also led to criminal charges, but like the Mar-a-Lago case, it was abandoned by special counsel Jack Smith after Trump won the White House in November 2024 because of long-standing Justice Department legal opinions stating that sitting presidents cannot be indicted.

The firings were revealed on the same day Patel was quoted as telling Reuters that the FBI during the Biden administration had subpoenaed his phone records and those of current White House chief of staff Susie Wiles. Patel said the incident occurred in 2022 and 2023 when they were ordinary citizens.

The AP previously reported that federal prosecutors subpoenaed Patel in 2022 to testify before a grand jury in Washington in the Mar-a-Lago investigation, and he appeared after being granted immunity.