Nine FBI employees sue over firings from Trump documents case

Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 15 Oct, 21:32 · Archive

Nine former FBI employees have sued the bureau, alleging they were unlawfully fired for working on the investigation into Donald Trump's classified documents case.

Nine former FBI special agents, intelligence analysts and staff operation specialists sued the FBI on Thursday, claiming they were unlawfully fired for their work on the investigation into Trump's classified documents. The employees were terminated over two days in February 2026 without internal investigation, notice or hearing, the lawsuit alleges.

The case itself collapsed when Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, ruled that special counsel Jack Smith had been improperly appointed. The Justice Department dropped its appeal of Cannon's ruling after Trump was re-elected in November 2024. Trump faced charges of allegedly keeping sensitive materials he knew were classified and lying to federal investigators to conceal them. He pleaded not guilty and was later also charged with obstruction.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, names the FBI, Director Kash Patel, Attorney General Todd Blanche and the Department of Justice as defendants. The plaintiffs allege they "were unlawfully terminated not for any cause or any legitimate reason, but only to satisfy the President's personal vendetta." UPI reports that FBI Special Agent Miles Starr requested urgent access to the case file on 23 February, which contained the names of agents who worked on the probe, and the employees were fired in the following days.

How it is being reported

• FBI employees fired over Trump classified documents probe sue to be reinstatedThe complaint represents nine agents, intelligence analysts, and operational staff who were ousted in FebruaryIndependent World · 15 Oct, 21:34
• FBI employees involved in Trump documents case sue over firingsNine ex-FBI employees sued the agency, saying their firings over their work on the classified documents case against Donald Trump were "unlawful."UPI · 15 Oct, 21:10
• 9 fired FBI employees who worked on Trump documents case sueNine former FBI employees sued the bureau, saying they were unlawfully terminated for working on the investigation into President Trump's classified documents case.CBS News · 15 Oct, 19:15

In this story: FBI · Kash Patel · Todd Blanche · Donald Trump · Jack Smith · Aileen Cannon

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