CNN
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The acting assistant attorney general refused to identify the “core team” of the department’s employees involved in the January 6 investigation, ensuring that the rank and file agent “simply followed the order” would not guarantee. By attempting to denounce the FBI leadership of “disobedience.” According to a copy of the memo obtained by CNN, they will be fired unless they “acted with corrupt or partisan intentions.”
A memo sent via email from Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove on Wednesday is the first time the Department of Justice has shown that thousands of agents who worked on a January 6th-related investigation will not be fired in large numbers. .
However, Bove does not rule out that some people may still face consequences, such as termination and other penalties.
“Let’s be clear. FBI employees who performed their duties in an ethical way regarding the January 6 investigation are at risk of being fired or other penalty,” the email reads.
“The process that has been launched by the January 31, 2025 memo should be concerned about is those who acted with corrupt or partisan intentions, those who blatantly refused orders from departmental leadership, or those who were the FBI’s Only those who exercised discretion in weaponization,” Bove added.
Last week, Bove, who represented New York State’s detective Hash Money Trial Trump before being tapped to work for the Department of Justice, sent a memo to the FBI saying, “We will always provide information about current and former department employees.” I’ll give you instructions.’ We worked on the investigation on January 6th. The message quickly became a point of conflict, sparking two lawsuits aimed at preventing the Department of Justice from collecting or releasing information, saying its release would put FBI employees at risk.
Still, the department handed over more than 5,000 FBI agents and employees who worked on the relevant investigation on January 6, 2021, the Capitol reported Tuesday. These details include employee ID numbers, job titles and their roles in the January 6 survey, sources said they did not say their name.
Bove tackled the controversy in his email Wednesday, saying that “criminal from scrutiny of these issues that distorted its simple truth, politicized the bureau, impaired credibility and distracted the public.” There is no honor for the ongoing efforts to protect those involved. A wonderful job done every day.”
In explaining how last week’s memos did, Bove identified the “core team” of bureaus employees who worked on the January 6 survey because the Department of Justice wanted to carry out their narrow review. He said he asked FBI leadership “multiple times” to do so. work.
However, he refused to follow the leadership of the FBI agent and led the Department to request drastic set information from all current and previous agents or employees who were exposed to the Capitol riot investigation. He said.
“That disobedience required, among other things, a directive for the January 31, 2025 memo to identify all agents assigned to the relevant investigation on January 6, 2021,” Bove e-mailed. It is stated in an email. “In light of the refusal of leadership to follow narrower demands, the written directive will obtain a complete dataset that will ensure that the Department of Justice can follow executives and reach elevation to the core team that will be the focus of the weaponization review. It was intended to be. Order.
Since Trump was sworn in last month, the Justice Department has adopted a proactive approach to pushing down or sideline employees who they perceive as participating in the “weaponization” of law enforcement. It’s there. These moves include Trump and a shooting agent and prosecutor who worked on a case related to January 6th.
Divisional leadership also reassigns career positions in at least 20 high-level criminal sectors, the National Security Agency, which has been isolated from political winds in the past, and prosecutors working on international issues dealing with extraditions. I did. And immigration is important.
This story is updated in additional details.
