The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee is asking the Justice Department’s independent watchdog to investigate the forced removals of FBI leaders, including recent reporting by MSNBC that the purge has disproportionately affected women and people of color.
“These shortsighted and politically motivated personnel decisions have significantly destabilized the Bureau, harmed our public safety apparatus, and made Americans less safe,” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., wrote in a letter exclusively obtained by MSNBC. “The arbitrary purge of FBI personnel has continued unabated.”
These individuals represent decades of expertise, public service, and commitment to the Bureau’s mission and our public safety.”
SEn. Dick Durbin
Last week, FBI Director Kash Patel fired four experienced and highly regarded bureau veterans, including former acting Director Brian Driscoll and Steve Jensen, who was leading the Washington, D.C., field office. The two men were sacked in part because they each refused to fire a subordinate who had been targeted for political reasons, according to a dozen current and former FBI officials who declined to be named for fear of retaliation. The agents in question — Walter Giardina and Christopher Meyer — were also fired, as was Spencer Evans, the special agent in charge of the Las Vegas field office.
None of the men had reached 20 years of service, meaning they will receive no FBI pension. Giardina last month lost his wife to cancer.
“He is very nearly the best law enforcement agent with whom I worked in my over 12 years with the Department of Justice,” said Peter Lallas, a former DOJ prosecutor.
The FBI declined to comment.
The firings have sparked widespread outrage among current and former FBI officials.
“The FBI must remain an independent law enforcement agency that is protected from political interference,” said Mike Clark, head of the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI. “Political interference in personnel decisions can damage ongoing investigations, weaken national security and erode public trust.”
Those firings all involved white men, but they came after MSNBC reported that 18 of 53 “special agents in charge” of FBI field offices had been forced out, according to an unofficial tally by current and former officials — and that half of those were either women or people of color. Durbin quoted from that reporting in his letter, adding, “These individuals represent decades of expertise, public service, and commitment to the Bureau’s mission and our public safety. For any of them to be ousted for reasons such as race, ethnicity, or gender—let alone to be replaced by individuals who have not been required to meet the same rigorous standards—is unacceptable.” Durbin also cited MSNBC’s reporting that, as of November, the FBI is reinstating a requirement that agent trainees complete at least one unassisted pull-up, a movement that studies have shown cannot be completed by many women no matter how hard and long they train. The senator said the change could reduce the number of women in the FBI’s workforce by 30%. “These shortsighted and politically motivated personnel decisions have significantly destabilized the Bureau, harmed our public safety apparatus, and made Americans less safe,” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., wrote in a letter exclusively obtained by MSNBC. “The arbitrary purge of FBI personnel has continued unabated.”
Ken Dilanian is the justice and intelligence correspondent for MS NOW. Recommended
