Multiple senior FBI officials have been told they must resign from the bureau or be fired or demoted, sources familiar with the matter confirm to ABC News, a move further signaling the administration’s intentions to oust law enforcement officials they see as not sufficiently loyal to President Trump.
At least five officials at the executive director or special agent in charge level were informed Thursday of what sources described as essentially a forced resignation from the FBI, the sources said. Several of the officials had been previously promoted to their roles by Chris Wray, the now-former director of the FBI who departed the agency based on the expectation he’d be fired after Trump’s inauguration.
The move follows a series of firings at the Justice Department of officials who were previously detailed to work on Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation, or in other instances sudden reassignments of senior level officials that have resulted in some opting to resign as an alternative.
Some of the FBI officials were informed of their ousting as Trump’s nominee for the next FBI Director, Kash Patel, was fielding questions from lawmakers during a contentious confirmation hearing.
When asked about the broader shakeup at DOJ and the firings of officials who had worked on Smith’s investigation, Patel told lawmakers he had not played a role in the firings. News of the FBI firings didn’t surface until after Patel’s hearing, so lawmakers were unable to question whether he had any awareness of them specifically.
-ABC News' Luke Barr, Aaron Katersky and Alexander Mallin
