FBI 'fires' at least 10 agents linked to Mar-a-Lago classified documents probe against Trump
At least ten FBI agents tied to the investigation of President Donald Trump's handling of classified files have been fired, sources revealed.
The personnel were reportedly all involved in former Special Counsel Jack Smith's probe into whether the president hid classified documents in Mar-a-Lago upon leaving the White House in 2021.
The documents case against Trump was dismissed by a federal judge in 2024.
But on Wednesday almost a dozen agents who worked with Smith on the investigation were axed, according to CBS News.
The FBI Agents Association, representing current and former agents, slammed the firings as a violation of due process and warned that the mass dismissals put the nation at greater risk.
'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,' a statement read.
Smith is responsible for launching dual investigations into Trump, leading to the first federal criminal indictments of a former president in US history.
The classified documents case against the president alleged that he transported confidential materials to his Mar-a-Lago club after leaving office at the end of his first term and attempted to obstruct the Justice Department's efforts to retrieve them.
At least ten FBI agents tied to the investigation of President Donald Trump's handling of classified files at Mar-a-Lago were fired on Wednesday, sources told CNN
A case launched by Former Special Counsel Jack Smith alleged that Trump hid confidential files in his Mar-a-Lago club (pictured) after leaving office at the end of his first term and attempted to obstruct the Justice Department's efforts to retrieve them
The case against Trump was ultimately dismissed by a federal judge in 2024. Pictured: A collection of documents seized by the FBI during execution of a search warrant on Mar-a-Lago
The charges were dismissed by a Florida federal judge in mid-2024, who said Smith was appointed unlawfully.
A second case against Trump - known as Arctic Frost - alleged that he unlawfully sought to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Smith later dropped the charges following Trump's victory over Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential race.
The president and his administration have since targeted federal employees who worked on the two cases, with the Justice Department firing a group of prosecutors who worked on Smith's team in January of last year.
An official previously told CBS that the acting attorney general made the decision because 'he did not believe these officials could be trusted to faithfully implement the president's agenda because of their significant role in prosecuting the president.'.
But Wednesday's firings come after a new report revealed that the FBI subpoenaed phone records of conversations between FBI Director Kash Patel and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, according to Reuters.
Patel told the outlet that the calls took place in 2022 and 2023, while both he and Wiles were private citizens during the Biden administration, as the federal probe into Trump was unfolding.
The probe into the phone records was placed under Smith’s direction in November 2022.
Smith (pictured) also launched a second case against Trump known as Arctic Frost, which alleged that he unlawfully sought to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election
Wednesday's firings come after a new report revealed that the FBI subpoenaed phone records of conversations between FBI Director Kash Patel and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles
Patel claimed that the FBI's secret subpoena of his records was a prime example of overreach by unelected government officials under Biden - a theme frequently repeated by Trump himself.
He called the previous leadership 'outrageous and deeply alarming', accusing them of 'using flimsy pretexts and burying the entire process in prohibited case files designed to evade all oversight'.
Although Reuters could not verify many of Patel's claims, he said the records were buried in a way that made them difficult for him and other FBI leaders to find after he took over the bureau last year.
A source told CBS News that Wiles' records were reviewed during the documents investigation, though it could not be confirmed whether Patel’s records were reviewed. His records were not subpoenaed in the 2020 election case.
However, both Wiles and Patel were known to have been questioned by investigators in the Mar-a-Lago documents probe, according to Reuters.
Controversy deepened late last year when the GOP-led Senate Judiciary Committee disclosed that the FBI had seized phone records from multiple Republican lawmakers during the Arctic Frost investigation.
The records contained only call metadata - showing who the lawmakers contacted around the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot - but not the call contents.
Last year, Smith testified that the call records of lawmakers helped investigators verify the timeline of events surrounding the insurrection, adding that prosecutors 'followed all legal requirements in obtaining those records'.
GOP leaders - including Trump - criticized his investigative methods, demanding that Smith, former Attorney General Merrick Garland, former FBI Director Christopher Wray and others be 'prosecuted for their illegal and highly unethical behavior'.
Patel said the calls took place in 2022 and 2023, while both he and Wiles were private citizens during the Biden administration, as the federal probe into Trump was unfolding (pictured: Mar-a-Lago)
GOP leaders - including Trump - have demanded that Smith, former Attorney General Merrick Garland, former FBI Director Christopher Wray and others be 'prosecuted for their illegal and highly unethical behavior'
On Monday, a federal judge permanently blocked the Justice Department from releasing Smith’s (pictured) report on the documents investigation
Congressional Democrats have repeatedly defended Smith, saying he acted properly in pursuing evidence to fully investigate allegations against Trump and his circle.
On Monday, a federal judge permanently blocked the Justice Department from releasing Smith’s report on the documents investigation.
Smith informed Congress that court orders prohibit him from discussing any details not already made public in filings.
The Daily Mail has contacted the White House and the FBI for comment.
