FBI fires, then reinstates agents involved in Trump investigations
The FBI has fired four agents who served on former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team investigating President Donald Trump — only to reverse some of those decisions shortly afterward, according to five people familiar with the matter.
The dismissals are the latest in a wave of personnel actions affecting officials who worked on cases involving Trump or his allies, raising questions over political pressure on federal law enforcement, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Among those dismissed was agent Jeremy Desor, who became a focus of online criticism after Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) released more than 1,000 pages of subpoenas from Smith’s probe, code-named Arctic Frost, into efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Another agent, Jamie Garman, was placed on administrative leave after records emerged indicating that Smith’s office requested limited tolling data — phone call duration and location information, but not content — from several Republican lawmakers around the Jan. 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol attack.
Agents Blaire Toleman and David Geist were also initially told they were being terminated on Monday, but later informed the decisions had been rescinded, sources said. Additional agents reportedly faced similar dismissal-then-reversal actions.
The reasons behind the abrupt policy shift remain unclear. The FBI did not respond to requests for comment. Attempts to contact the affected agents were unsuccessful.
Senator Grassley defended public disclosure of the subpoenas, arguing transparency was needed to ensure accountability.
“The public has a right to know how the government's spending their hard-earned tax dollars, and if agents were engaged in wrongdoing they ought to be held accountable,” Grassley said in a statement.
Some lawmakers have accused the FBI of “spying” on Congress — a claim legal experts say is unfounded, noting tolling data collection is routine in criminal investigations. Smith’s legal team has pushed back on the accusations, saying they are “inaccurate.”
Trump was the only federal official ultimately charged in the 2020 election case.
The recent firings follow a pattern: since January, dozens of FBI and Justice Department employees tied to Trump-related and Jan. 6 investigations have been removed or pushed out, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Earlier this year, former Acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll and the former head of the bureau’s Washington Field Office filed a lawsuit claiming the White House pressured FBI leadership to dismiss personnel who worked on cases tied to Trump.
Both plaintiffs were fired before filing suit against FBI Director Kash Patel and the Justice Department.
The FBI has not publicly commented on the lawsuit or the latest terminations.
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