WASHINGTON — The FBI, at the direction of Director Kash Patel, has fired at least a half-dozen agents tied to the 2022 search of President Donald Trump's home in Florida, six people familiar with the matter told NBC News.
Three of the sources said at least 10 employees overall were dismissed, from support personnel to agents and supervisors.
The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump had faced federal charges in two criminal cases: one over his handling of classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago estate and another in connection with his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. A Trump-appointed judge dismissed the classified documents case, while Jack Smith moved to drop the election case when he was special counsel after Trump won a second term in 2024. Trump pleaded not guilty in each case and denied any wrongdoing.
The firings came the same day Patel said federal authorities obtained his phone records during the Biden administration in connection with the Trump investigations.
“It is outrageous and deeply alarming that the previous FBI leadership secretly subpoenaed my own phone records — along with those of now White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles — using flimsy pretexts and burying the entire process in prohibited case files designed to evade all oversight,” Patel said Wednesday in a statement to Reuters.
The FBI did not immediately share Patel's statement with NBC News. The White House and a representative for Smith did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Several Republican lawmakers said last year that their phone records were obtained, as well.
Since Trump returned to office, the FBI has purged employees tied to the investigations into him, as well as the probe that resulted in hundreds of charges against Jan. 6 rioters. One official fired early in the administration, David Sundberg, recently announced he is running for a House seat this year.
In a statement Wednesday, the FBI Agents Association called the dismissals related to Mar-a-Lago a violation of due process.
“The FBIAA condemns today’s unlawful termination of FBI Special Agents, which—like other firings by Director Patel—violates the due process rights of those who risk their lives to protect our country," the employee group said. "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.”
Patel has come under scrutiny in recent days after he attended the Winter Olympics in Italy, where he was seen drinking beer and celebrating in the locker room with the U.S. men’s hockey team after its victory over Canada to win the gold medal. He defended himself on X, saying the team "invited me into the locker room to celebrate this historic moment with the boys."
