'Don’t submit': 'Growing resistance' at FBI as agents balk at Trump loyalty probe

President Donald Trump’s Justice Department last week distributed a survey to FBI agents asking about their roles in the investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol — and some agents are taking the questioning as a sign of a potential purge of those perceived as disloyal to the president, Politico reported Sunday.

The 12-question survey, due Tuesday, asks agents about their role in the Jan. 6 investigations. It asks, for example, about whether they handled arrests, conducted surveillance, or testified in trials, among other types of involvement.

Concerns about mass firings are by no means unfounded. Last week, the Justice Department fired at least two dozen prosecutors who worked on cases related to Jan. 6. According to a memo, their employment has "hindered the ability" of the D.C. U.S. attorney to "faithfully implement the agenda that the American people elected President Trump to execute." Trump ended the four-year criminal investigation into the attack on his first day in office, pardoned Jan. 6 rioters, and ordered the DOJ to drop pending charges.

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As the DOJ probes FBI involvement, not all agents are complying. An anonymous lawyer representing several FBI agents told Politico that some employees are pushing back against the inquiry, telling subordinates not to turn the surveys in.

“There’s growing resistance from among the SACs [special agents in charge],” they said. “Some are telling people beneath them, don’t submit it, or don’t submit it right away … Some are saying, we will submit it as leadership only.”

The Justice Department also asked for a list, due Tuesday, of employees who worked on Jan. 6 cases.

The FBI Agents Association, a group providing advocacy for active and retired FBI agents, wrote to members that employees carrying out their jobs legally should not be treated as though they had carried out any wrongdoing.

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“We understand that this feels like agents and employees are being targeted, despite repeated assurances that ‘all FBI employees will be protected against political retribution,’” the association wrote. “Employees carrying out their duties to investigate allegations of criminal activity with integrity and within the rule of law should never be treated as those who have engaged in actual misconduct.”

“We continue to hear rumors of dismissals/security revocations, or individuals who have been told to expect dismissals on Monday,” the association wrote. “Again, we have no confirmation of any such events. Please be cautious in sharing and spreading what could be misinformation. We do not need any more stress on those potentially impacted.”

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