By Steve Neavling
The FBI has forced out several senior agents this week, including former acting director Brian Driscoll and Steven J. Jensen, head of the Washington field office, according to people familiar with the matter, The New York Times reports.
Both had overseen high-profile investigations tied to former President Donald Trump and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
Driscoll, who briefly became acting director on Inauguration Day through an administrative error, was told Wednesday he must leave by Friday.
“Last night, I was informed that tomorrow will be my last day in the F.B.I.,” Driscoll wrote in a message to colleagues. “I understand that you may have a lot of questions regarding why, for which I currently have no answers. No cause has been articulated at this time.”
Jensen, whose promotion in April had drawn criticism from Trump supporters, informed his staff Thursday that his employment had been “terminated.” He wrote that he intended “to meet this challenge like any other I have faced in this organization, with professionalism, integrity and dignity.”
FBI Director Kash Patel had publicly defended Jensen earlier this year, saying on Fox News that “Steve Jensen and other folks were promoted because they embody what the American public demands of F.B.I. agents.”
Other agents being removed include Walter Giardina, Christopher Meyer, and Spencer Evans, all of whom had worked on Trump-related cases, according to people familiar with the decisions. Giardina, a former Marine who lost his wife to cancer last month, had worked on an investigation that sent former Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro to prison. Evans had faced criticism from Trump allies for denying religious exemptions to the coronavirus vaccine when he worked in human resources at FBI headquarters.
The ousters come as the bureau faces continued political pressure over investigations that Trump’s supporters have denounced. Both the FBI’s national press office and its Washington field office declined to comment.
