Nine Fired FBI Employees Sue Over Trump Classified-Documents Investigation Firings
On Thursday, October 15, 2026, nine former FBI employees sued the FBI, Director Kash Patel, Attorney General Todd Blanche and the Justice Department in federal court in Washington, D.C., saying they were unlawfully fired for working on the Trump classified-documents probe.[1]
The 70-page complaint says the nine — agents, intelligence analysts and staff operations specialists — were dismissed over two days in February 2026 solely for working on Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation, code-named "Plasmic Echo." CBS News The filing says the terminations occurred without any internal investigation, disciplinary process, notice, hearing or appeal and that Patel justified them by invoking presidential authority under Article II.[1] The suit seeks reinstatement, back pay and a declaration that the firings were unlawful and is brought by attorneys Margaret Donovan, Abbe Lowell and Rebecca Tinio.[2]
Days after President Trump's 2025 inauguration, a top Justice Department official demanded a list of FBI employees who had worked on Trump-related investigations, an order then-Director Brian Driscoll resisted, the complaint says.[2] The filing alleges FBI and DOJ dismissals continued in waves over the following year and culminated in the February 2026 ouster of the nine Mar-a-Lago investigators.[2] The complaint recounts that counterintelligence section chief Jennifer Bacon learned she was being terminated shortly after agent Miles Starr urgently requested access on February 23, 2026 to classified Plasmic Echo case files that listed the plaintiffs' names.[1]
The suit points to public statements it says show political animus, including then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche praising that the administration had "cleaned house" at the FBI.[1] It also cites Patel's past podcaster comments that labeled agents who participated in the Mar-a-Lago search "corrupt government gangsters" as part of an alleged retribution campaign.[2] The complaint says the nine had more than a century of combined FBI service, including work on the Boston Marathon bombing, hostage recoveries and the 2024 assassination attempt on Trump, and calls their ouster an "immeasurable loss" to national security.[2]
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📌 Key Facts
- On Thursday, October 15, 2026, nine former FBI employees filed a 70-page lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the FBI, FBI Director Kash Patel, Attorney General Todd Blanche and the Department of Justice (70-page lawsuit).
- The plaintiffs — nine agents, intelligence analysts and staff operations specialists — say they were fired over two days in February 2026 solely for working on Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation into former President Trump’s retention of classified records, an investigation the complaint identifies by the FBI code name "Plasmic Echo".
- The complaint alleges the terminations occurred without any internal investigation, disciplinary process, notice, hearing or appeal and alleges Director Kash Patel justified them by invoking presidential authority under Article II.
- The filing recounts that days after Trump's 2025 inauguration a top Justice Department official demanded a list of FBI employees who had worked on Trump-related investigations — an order then-Director Brian Driscoll resisted and employees viewed as a prelude to mass firings.
- CBS reports the complaint describes counterintelligence section chief Jennifer Bacon learning she was being terminated shortly after agent Miles Starr urgently requested access on February 23, 2026 to classified Plasmic Echo case files that contained the names of all nine plaintiffs.
- The lawsuit cites public comments by then–Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche praising that the administration had 'cleaned house' at the FBI and also points to Kash Patel's prior podcaster comments labeling Mar‑a‑Lago participating agents 'corrupt government gangsters' as evidence of political animus and retribution.
- Plaintiffs' attorneys Margaret Donovan, Abbe Lowell and Rebecca Tinio said their clients were fired for doing their jobs 'to follow the facts and law without bias or favor,' and the lawsuit seeks reinstatement, back pay and a declaration the firings were unlawful (Margaret Donovan).
- The complaint says the nine plaintiffs together had more than a century of FBI service — including work on the Boston Marathon bombing, hostage recoveries and the 2024 assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania — and characterizes their ouster as an 'immeasurable loss' to national security.
- The filing reiterates background on the Mar‑a‑Lago matter: a 2022 FBI search that recovered classified records, a subsequent federal indictment charging Trump with dozens of felony counts, and the 2024 dismissal of that case by Judge Aileen Cannon on the ground that Special Counsel Jack Smith was illegally appointed (Mar‑a‑Lago search).
📰 Source Timeline (3)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- The PBS/AP article confirms the lawsuit was filed Thursday, October 15, 2026, in federal court in Washington, DC, on behalf of nine FBI agents, intelligence analysts and staff operations specialists fired over their work on the Mar-a-Lago classified documents probe.
- The complaint describes the investigation under the FBI code name "Plasmic Echo" and specifies that the plaintiffs were assigned to specialized counterintelligence and counterespionage squads, not volunteers for the Trump documents case.
- The lawsuit asserts the plaintiffs were terminated without any internal investigation, disciplinary process, notice, hearing or appeal, and characterizes the firings as unlawful political retribution to satisfy President Trump's personal vendetta.
- The filing recounts that days after Trump's 2025 inauguration, a top Justice Department official demanded a list of FBI employees who had participated in Trump-related investigations, an order then-Director Brian Driscoll resisted and which employees viewed as a prelude to mass firings.
- The article reports that over the following year, the FBI and DOJ fired multiple waves of employees involved in Trump investigations, culminating in the February 2026 dismissals of the nine Mar-a-Lago agents and analysts after Patel disclosed to Reuters that FBI subpoenas had obtained his toll records.
- The lawsuit cites Patel's prior comments as a conservative podcaster, in which he called the Mar-a-Lago search "unlawful" and labeled participating agents "corrupt government gangsters," as part of a broader alleged retribution campaign once Trump returned to the White House in 2025.
- The article reiterates the underlying Mar-a-Lago case history: a 2022 FBI search that recovered classified records, a federal indictment charging Trump with dozens of felony counts, and the 2024 dismissal of that case by Judge Aileen Cannon on the ground that Special Counsel Jack Smith was illegally appointed.
- The plaintiffs' attorneys, Margaret Donovan, Abbe Lowell and Rebecca Tinio, issued a statement saying their clients were fired for doing their jobs "to follow the facts and law without bias or favor" and that the lawsuit seeks reinstatement, back pay, and a declaration that the firings were unlawful.
- The lawsuit asserts that between the nine plaintiffs they had more than a century of service that included work on the Boston Marathon bombing, hostage recoveries and the 2024 assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, and that their ouster is an "immeasurable loss" to national security.
- On Thursday, October 15, 2026, nine former FBI employees filed a 70-page lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the FBI, FBI Director Kash Patel, Attorney General Todd Blanche and the Department of Justice.
- The complaint alleges the plaintiffs were 'unlawfully terminated' over two days in February 2026 solely for working on former special counsel Jack Smith's investigation into Donald Trump's retention of classified records after his first term.
- The suit says the terminations occurred without any internal investigation, disciplinary process, notice, hearing or appeal, and alleges Patel justified them solely by invoking presidential authority under Article II of the Constitution.
- The article adds detail about counterintelligence section chief Jennifer Bacon, stating she learned she was being terminated shortly after agent Miles Starr, a member of Patel's Director's Advisory Team, urgently requested access on February 23, 2026, to classified Plasmic Echo case files containing the names of all nine plaintiffs.
- The lawsuit cites prior public comments by then–Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche praising that the administration had 'cleaned house' at the FBI by firing employees associated with investigations involving the president as evidence of political animus.