FBI fires agents who worked on Trump classified document investigation,
AP sources say
[February 26, 2026]
By ERIC TUCKER and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER
WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI has fired additional agents who worked on an
investigation into President Donald Trump, this time terminating
employees who participated in the probe into the Republican's hoarding
of classified documents, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday.
The firings are part of a broader personnel purge under the leadership
of Director Kash Patel, a Trump appointee who, over the last year, has
pushed out dozens of employees who either contributed to investigations
of the president or who were perceived as not in alignment with the
administration's agenda. The Justice Department has engaged in similarly
sweeping firings of prosecutors since Trump took office last year.
The FBI Agents Association condemned the firings as unlawful and
endangering national security.
“These actions weaken the Bureau by stripping away critical expertise
and destabilizing the workforce, undermining trust in leadership and
jeopardizing the Bureau's ability to meet its recruitment goals —
ultimately putting the nation at greater risk,” the association said in
a statement.
The latest round of terminations included employees who helped
investigate Trump's retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago
resort, a case that involved a high-profile FBI search of the Florida
property and resulted in a federal prosecution charging the
now-president with holding onto top-secret records from his first term
in office and obstructing government efforts to get them back.
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The firings were confirmed to The Associated Press by multiple
people familiar with the matter who spoke on anonymity because they
could not publicly discuss the personnel moves. Several of the
people said a total of 10 employees were fired, and one said at
least 10 were fired.
The FBI has also fired agents who participated in a separate
investigation into Trump's efforts to overturn the results of the
2020 presidential election. That investigation also led to criminal
charges, but like the Mar-a-Lago case, was abandoned by special
counsel Jack Smith after Trump won the White House in November 2024
because of longstanding Justice Department legal opinions that say
sitting presidents cannot be indicted.
The firings were revealed on the same day that Patel was quoted as
telling Reuters the FBI during the Biden administration had
subpoenaed his phone records and those of current White House chief
of staff Susie Wiles. Patel said the action had occurred in 2022 and
2023 when they were private citizens.
Patel was subpoenaed by federal prosecutors in 2022 to testify
before a grand jury in Washington in the Mar-a-Lago investigation,
and appeared after being given immunity, the AP has previously
reported.
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