President Trump’s FBI Director nominee Kash Patel appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday for his confirmation hearing, where Patel refused to explicitly say he would not investigate specific former officials who have been critical of Trump and appeared on the “enemies list” in his 2023 book.
In the book, Patel called for a “comprehensive housecleaning” of officials at the DOJ and firing the “top ranks” at the FBI, as quoted by ABC News.
The Trump administration on Friday fired prosecutors involved in the Jan. 6 criminal cases and demanded the names of FBI agents involved in those same probes so they can possibly be ousted.
Former GOP presidential candidate, New Jersey Governor and US Attorney Chris Christie, defended the Jan 6 prosecutors on ABC This Week and believes they will sue Trump and win.
.@GovChristie says FBI agents are “stunned by what’s happening” as the Trump DOJ seeks a list of potentially thousands of FBI employees who worked on Jan. 6 cases.
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) February 2, 2025
“Their work resulted in convictions that were brought by juries or guilty pleas." https://t.co/TQ5wHOfK0u pic.twitter.com/WMAr91Jzwy
Christie said: “None of these agents who worked on the January 6 cases volunteered. It’s not the way it works. In fact, at the FBI, they do the opposite. They don’t want you volunteering and self-selecting for an investigation because they means you might bring some bias to it.”
Noting this convention to keep bias from infecting the investigations, Christie added: “They were instructed by their bosses to work on the January 6th cases.”
Christie emphasized that the work of those prosecutors resulted in “hundreds of convictions in front of juries and judges that were appointed by both Republican and Democrat administrations. Their convictions were brought by juries or guilty pleas that were accepted by both Republican and Democratic judges.”
Christie added: “If the President wants to pardon those people, that’s his right to do. But it’s not then his right to fire these folks,” who are all civil service protected. “So what’s going to happen for these folks who don’t go voluntarily is they’re going to file grievances and lawsuits, and they’re ultimately going to win them.”
According to the Legal Defense Fund: “No matter what Trump’s orders proclaim, federal employment statutes have not changed. Federal workers are still protected by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and many other federal laws and rules.”
