FBI Agents Sue Trump to Block Public Identification of Personnel Involved in January 6 Capitol Attack

Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have filed two lawsuits against their agency and other federal departments to prevent the identities of the agents who investigated the riots occurring at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, from being released.

At least 16 agents actively in the FBI have filed two separate lawsuits, against the FBI itself as well as the Department of Justice, to prevent the release of names and details of agents who investigated the case closely tied to President Donald Trump, reported The Washington Post.

The FBI Agents Association, which assisted active agents in filing the lawsuits, said in a statement that "there is clear evidence the Justice Department intends to publicly disclose the names of employees it plans to demote, transfer or terminate — apparently as a form of retaliation and stigmatization."

"FBI Special Agents who risk their lives protecting the country from criminals and terrorists are now being placed on lists and having their careers jeopardized simply for doing their jobs," said FBIAA President Natalie Bara in a statement. "Exposing the names of FBI Agents and employees on these lists would put the safety of these individuals and their families at risk. Further, this reckless action would create a chilling effect within the law enforcement community and weaken the Bureau's ability to combat criminal and national security threats."

One of the lawsuits was filed by nine agents who worked on special counsel Jack Smith's investigations of President Trump relating to the events of January 6, requesting a class action lawsuit that would represent all agents affected by proceedings. The second lawsuit, filed by another seven agents as well as the FBIAA, requests a temporary restraining order preventing the publication of the list of agents.

The lawsuits, both filed anonymously, were announced just after the acting director of the FBI, Brian Driscoll, made it known that he had complied with an order to provide the DOJ with the information of about 5,000 Bureau employees by Tuesday.

"I want to be clear again ... that the FBI does not consider anyone's identification on one of these lists as an indicator of misconduct," Driscoll wrote in the memo, obtained by The Post. He claimed to have informed the DOJ that agents are "assigned to matters purely based on the responsibilities of our jobs" and that abuses of power or misconduct by agents would be handled internally.

"I am confident the Department of Justice understands our concerns and will undertake a full and fair review of the data we provided," Driscoll wrote.