Overview
- CNN reports at least a dozen agents and staff from CI-12 in the Washington Field Office were dismissed because each had worked on the investigation into President Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.
- The FBI declined to discuss personnel decisions but said it maintains a robust counterintelligence operation nationwide and highlighted recent arrest and disruption results.
- The firings occurred shortly before Operation Epic Fury began against Iran, and a source told CNN there are no indications of increased threats though domestic monitoring has been stepped up.
- Patel recently said he learned Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team and the FBI obtained his and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles’ phone records, and The New York Sun reported some fired staff were believed to have worked on related subpoenas.
- Former FBI officials and associations criticized the summary dismissals as weakening Iran-focused expertise, while The New York Sun first identified CI-12 as the target and MS NOW reported employees were bracing for potential additional firings.