By Steve Neavling
The head of the FBI’s New York field office, James E. Dennehy, was forced to retire after clashing with Justice Department officials over Trump administration directives.
Dennehy, who had led the bureau’s largest field office since September, submitted his retirement papers Monday after being told Friday he had to leave, The New York Times reports. He was not given a reason, he wrote in an email to colleagues, adding, “I apologize to all of you for not being able to fulfill my commitment.”
Dennehy angered Attorney General Pam Bondi over what she claimed was the New York office’s failure to turn over all investigative files related to Jeffrey Epstein. She provided no evidence to support the accusation. He also backed FBI officials who resisted demands to name agents involved in investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
His ouster comes amid a shakeup at the FBI, where nearly a dozen senior officials have been removed, leaving a leadership void at headquarters. It remains unclear what role FBI Director Kash Patel played in Dennehy’s departure. But on Friday, the same day Dennehy was pushed out, Patel sent a video message to FBI employees pledging to support them.
Dennehy, a former Marine officer, joined the FBI in 2002 and spent most of his career handling counterintelligence cases. Before leading the New York office, he ran the Newark office and previously oversaw New York’s counterintelligence and cyber division.
In his farewell email, Dennehy defended the bureau’s independence, writing, “We will not bend. We will not falter. We will not sacrifice what is right for anything or anyone.”
