Nine fired FBI employees sue Kash Patel over Trump probe firings
Nine former FBI agents, analysts and operational staff filed suit in federal court in Washington on 15 October, arguing their February 2026 dismissals punished them for work on the Mar-a-Lago documents case.
The lawsuit
Nine former FBI employees, who worked as agents, intelligence analysts and operational staff, filed suit on Thursday, 15 October 2026, in federal court in Washington. They were dismissed in February 2026 under FBI Director Kash Patel, and the complaint names Patel and Attorney General Todd Blanche as defendants. All nine are asking to be reinstated, to receive the wages they lost and to have a court declare their firings unlawful. The plaintiffs describe the terminations as political retaliation for their part in the investigation into how Donald Trump handled classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. According to The New York Times, one agent signed the affidavit for the search of the estate and another interviewed witnesses in that case. The filing says the inquiry was known internally as Plasmic Echo.
Margaret Donovan, a lawyer for some of the plaintiffs, told Axios in an emailed statement that the group had a long record of service:
With over a century of experience among them, these former FBI agents and analysts served our country with honor and distinction.
What the complaint alleges
The complaint says the nine were fired without any internal investigation, without prior notice and without a chance to explain or appeal. It argues the terminations skipped an FBI policy that requires an administrative inquiry before disciplinary action. None of the plaintiffs had been investigated for wrongdoing, the filing says, and it adds that in many instances their immediate supervisors expressed disbelief and regret that their careers had ended. The February termination letters, as the complaint quotes them, accused the employees of poor judgment and a lack of impartiality that led to the political weaponization of the government. The lawsuit rejects that description and says none of the plaintiffs had a record of misconduct while at the bureau. The FBI did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The New York Times reports that the lawsuit also links the firings to the scrutiny Patel faced after he traveled to Milan to watch the U.S. men's hockey team at the Olympics. Video circulated widely showing him drinking a beer in the men's locker room after the team won gold, and the filing describes that behavior as wild immaturity. The complaint also says Patel praised some of the employees privately before dismissing them.
Patel's testimony
In March, Patel told the House Intelligence Committee that the terminations were preceded by internal investigations. The plaintiffs say that statement was false. Patel's own words, as The New York Times quoted them, were:
When these terminations occur, there are internal investigations conducted by the careers at the F.B.I. that highlight unethical or inappropriate conduct, and it's up to me to make the decision.
The lawsuit states that the firings did not follow any internal investigation or disciplinary process within the bureau. The Independent reports that Patel had previously told Congress the targeted staff had weaponized the agency, a charge the plaintiffs reject in their filing.
Background to the probe
Trump left the White House in January 2021. The FBI searched Mar-a-Lago in August 2022 and recovered classified records. A federal indictment in Florida followed in 2023, containing dozens of felony counts, which Trump denied. In 2024 U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, dismissed the case after ruling that special counsel Jack Smith had been unlawfully appointed. The February dismissals followed earlier terminations of staff who had worked on the probe into Trump's attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat to Joe Biden. The timeline below sets out the key dates.
- Trump leaves the White House
- FBI searches Mar-a-Lago and recovers classified records
- Federal indictment in Florida with dozens of felony counts
- Judge Aileen Cannon dismisses the case
- Nine employees dismissed under Kash Patel
- Patel testifies before the House Intelligence Committee
- Nine former employees file suit in Washington
