gotchanewsdaily.com 
CNN
—
Senior FBI leaders are bracing for a Tuesday deadline as they grapple with whether to hand over information demanded by the Justice Department regarding bureau employees who worked cases involving the January 6 Capitol riot, multiple sources tell CNN.
As of Monday, acting FBI director Brian Driscoll and other senior FBI leaders had not finalized a decision on whether to comply with the order, sources said.
As CNN reported, Driscoll was recently instructed by Trump appointees at DOJ to provide them with information on all employees who worked January 6 cases by 12 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
The demand has caused consternation among FBI employees who fear it is meant to amass a list of line-level personnel for possible termination by the Trump administration, after multiple senior bureau officials were recently forced to retire.
Various possible courses of action have been discussed in recent days among senior FBI leaders, sources said, including: Driscoll telling DOJ he is ultimately responsible for all bureau employees; the FBI handing over a list of names containing only senior FBI executives; or whether to provide a fulsome list of names and details for all employees involved in the sprawling riot investigation as demanded.
In a note Friday to all FBI employees obtained by CNN, Driscoll said, “We are going to follow the law, follow FBI policy, and do what’s in the best interest of the workforce and the American people — always.”
As part of the FBI’s internal effort to identify just how many personnel were involved, employees connected to January 6 cases received surveys Sunday requiring them to provide information on their specific role.
Fight over purge of bureau personnel
CNN has reported that President Donald Trump’s Justice Department is considering expanding its purge of bureau personnel, which has been met with considerable pushback, including potential lawsuits and legal advice to agents urging them not to resign.
On Monday, a group of advocacy organizations representing federal law enforcement officers urged congressional leaders to prevent the Trump administration from purging career FBI career officials.
The top agent in the FBI’s New York field office, meanwhile, told his colleagues he’s digging a “foxhole” to protect them.
“Do NOT resign or offer to resign,” the FBI Agents Association told members in an email obtained by CNN. “While we would never advocate for physical non-compliance, you need to be clear your removal is not voluntary.”
Separately, lawyers for prosecutors and FBI agents called the possible dismissal of employees who worked on Trump-related investigations a “violation of the due process rights” and threatened legal action in a letter to senior DOJ officials Sunday night.
“If you proceed with terminations and/or public exposure of terminated employees’ identities, we stand ready to vindicate their rights through all available legal means,” the lawyers wrote to Emil Bove, the acting deputy attorney general.
The letter warns that should names of the agents become public, they would be subject to “immediate risk of doxing, swatting, harassment, or possibly worse.”
Attorney Mark Zaid; Norm Eisen, executive chairman of the State Democracy Defenders Fund; and retired District Judge Nancy Gertner signed the letter to Bove.
The letter comes a week after the Justice Department fired more than a dozen officials who worked on the federal criminal investigations into Trump. A letter from acting Attorney General James McHenry to the officials said they cannot be “trusted” to “faithfully” implement Trump’s agenda.
In addition to the questionnaire sent out from the DOJ, FBI leaders have been instructed to provide by Tuesday information about all current and former bureau employees who “at any time” worked on January 6 investigations.
On his first day in office, Trump issued a blanket pardon to those arrested and convicted for their roles in the violent US Capitol riot.
Digging in
Perhaps the most passionate response has been from James Dennehy, the top leader of the FBI’s New York field office, who told his staff he’s preparing to “dig in” to defend them.
CNN obtained a copy of Dennehy’s email, which reads in part:
“I still remember the first time I dug a foxhole in the Marines, back in 1993. I had nothing more than an E-tool (entrenching tool) that I carried around everywhere, which was a mini (2-foot long) shovel. I dug with that damn thing all day long to build myself a 2-foot by 2-foot hole in the hard ground, about five feet deep. It sucked. But it worked. That foxhole provided me the protection I needed for the battle that was to come, and when the bullets flew, it was worth the effort.
“Today, we find ourselves in the middle of a battle of our own, as good people are being walked out of the FBI and others are being targeted because they did their jobs in accordance with the law and FBI policy. On a day like today, I find myself searching for my old E-tool, ready to put in the sweat and effort to dig that foxhole, as I have that feeling that I need to do right by this office.
“I will support each and every one of you with whatever personal decision you make, but I’m sticking around to defend you, your work, your families, and this team we call the Flagship.
“Time for me to dig in.”
