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The FBI has fired roughly 10 members, all of whom participated in a probe into Donald Trump's handling of classified documents after his first term.
Their termination on Wednesday, confirmed by the BBC's US partner CBS, was announced shortly after FBI director Kash Patel told Reuters that federal agents subpoenaed his phone records when he was a private citizen during the documents investigation.
Susie Wiles, now White House chief of staff, also had her phone records subpoenaed when she was a private citizen as part of the investigation.
Patel did not offer any evidence of wrongdoing by the FBI employees who were fired.
After Trump left the White House in 2021, Special Counsel Jack Smith led two federal investigations into now-President Trump. One case was focused on whether Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election results.
The other involved classified documents Trump brought back to his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida and his alleged efforts to obstruct the US Department of Justice from later retrieving them.
The FBI staffers who were terminated on Wednesday all participated in the classified documents case.
The BBC has reached out to the FBI for comment.
An advocacy group representing current and former FBI employees condemned the firings.
"These actions weaken the Bureau by stripping away critical expertise and destabilizing the workforce, undermining trust in leadership and jeopardizing the Bureau's ability to meet its recruitment goals - ultimately putting the nation at greater risk," the FBI Agents Association said in a statement.
Trump and two of his associates were indicted in 2023, following Smith's investigation into the classified documents.
In 2024, a federal judge in Florida dropped the case against Trump, however, having found that Smith was unlawfully appointed.
This year, a federal appeals court in Georgia dropped the case against the last two defendants at the request of Trump's justice department.
Since Trump returned to the White House in November, the justice department and FBI have fired employees who participated in the federal investigations against him.
The justice department also attempted to pursue charges against former FBI director James Comey, whom Trump fired during his first term in 2017, and New York Attorney General Letitia James, who led a civil fraud lawsuit against Trump.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gq7vdld80o?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us
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At least 10 FBI staffers connected to Trump investigations fired