In a temporary truce between the Trump administration and the Justice Department, a federal judge has approved an agreement preventing the public release of FBI agents’ names linked to the January 6 investigation—at least until late March. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has made it clear that some of them won’t have jobs for much longer.
“I’ll fire some of them because some of them were corrupt,” Trump declared Friday, just hours after the deal was struck.
The agreement stems from lawsuits filed by two groups of FBI agents seeking to keep their identities private, citing safety concerns. Under the terms, the Justice Department must give a two-day warning before any future release of names.
At the center of this storm is Emil Bove, a former Trump defense lawyer turned senior Justice Department official, who has been leading an internal probe into alleged misconduct in the Capitol riot investigation. Bove had already dismissed eight senior FBI officials and hinted that more terminations could be on the horizon once a full list of names is reviewed.
Acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll initially resisted turning over the list, using a classified system to mark it as “law enforcement sensitive” in an effort to shield agents from potential threats. That resistance led Bove to accuse him of insubordination. A prior attempt to provide information included only employee identification numbers, but that wasn’t enough for the administration.
As the battle over the FBI’s independence intensifies, Trump’s push to purge those involved in investigations he opposes signals a new chapter in his long-running feud with the agency.
