Days before the United States began a major military operation in Iran, FBI Director Kash Patel removed roughly a dozen agents and staff from CI-12, a Washington, DC-based FBI counterintelligence unit, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The sources said those removed had worked on the investigation into President Donald Trumpâs alleged retention of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.
CI-12 handles counterintelligence matters including classified-information mishandling and tracking foreign intelligence activity in the United States. Multiple sources said the firings intensified concern inside the Justice Department and FBI that counterterrorism and intelligence work following the operation could be hindered by departures of national security personnel. Sources also described additional senior DOJ and FBI officials being ousted or reassigned due to involvement in Trump-related investigations.
Separately, sources said DOJ National Security Division offices have lost at least half their employees through firings and resignations since the start of the Trump administration. Attorney General Pam Bondi issued first-day memos pausing corporate foreign bribery investigations, curtailing enforcement of a foreign agent registration law, and deemphasizing prosecutions of Russian oligarchs, alongside leadership removals and reassignments.