On Friday, February 7th, the Trump administration reached a temporary agreement with Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) employees involved in investigating the events at the Capitol building on January 6, 2021, commonly known as the “January 6th incident”. They agreed to keep their names confidential, citing privacy and security concerns in previous lawsuits.
The agreement has been approved by a federal judge, ensuring that the government will not disclose the names until at least the end of March. Meanwhile, two lawsuits filed by groups of FBI agents are still ongoing.
Earlier, Interim FBI Director Brian Driscoll submitted a list of FBI employees involved in the investigation of the “January 6th incident” to the Department of Justice.
Emil Bove, former defense attorney for Trump, currently holds a senior position at the Department of Justice. He requested this information from the FBI as part of his internal review of the FBI’s alleged improper investigation into the “January 6th incident”, which led to nearly 1600 criminal prosecutions of Trump supporters.
Bove’s request triggered internal resistance from Driscoll and the FBI for several days, leading to two lawsuits from an anonymous group of FBI agents concerned about their safety.
The list also sparked controversy, with the FBI arguing to maintain its law enforcement independence, while the Trump administration believed it was necessary to investigate FBI officials involved in investigating Trump.
Facing resistance from Driscoll, Bove accused him of insubordination. Sources told Reuters that the list submitted to the Department of Justice by the FBI earlier this week only identified agents by their employee numbers.
The Department of Justice also requested the FBI to provide a list of FBI agents involved in criminal cases against leaders of the Hamas radical group targeting the United States.
Driscoll informed FBI employees that the latest list provided with agents’ names was submitted through a secure system and marked as “Law Enforcement Sensitive” to protect their safety.
In response to lawsuits against agents, the Department of Justice stated that there are currently no plans to disclose the names of employees on the list. Bove stated that agents who simply complied with investigative orders would not face disciplinary action.
On Thursday, the Department of Justice attempted to reach a temporary agreement with the FBI agents’ lawyers, but was unsuccessful. The issue lies in the potential impediment to President Trump’s efforts to reform the federal government if the agreement is signed.
(This article is based on reporting from Reuters)