The Federal Bureau of Investigation has reassigned seven agents who were photographed kneeling during a racial justice demonstration in Washington D.C. The protest flared up after George Floyd’s murder and the racial reckoning of 2020. Several Minneapolis police officers were directly involved in this awful killing. This move has opened a firestorm of discussion about the politicization and management of the FBI by the Trump administration.
One of the people impacted by this is Michael Feinberg, who was pressured by leadership to resign or take a demotion. Feinberg came under fire for punishment from the leadership because of his close friendship with Peter Strzok. Strzok is a former lead agent in the FBI’s Trump-Russia investigation. In 2018, the Justice Department terminated Strzok. This move came soon after the revelation that Strzok had texted FBI lawyer Lisa Page about their disdain for then-candidate Donald Trump.
Those recent firings and reassignments have come under fire, most notably by home-state Senator Mark Warner. He has described the current purging of seasoned FBI agents as dangerous and disturbing to national security. Public safety now becomes at stake if agents are fired away under a lack of due process. Warner made this clear.
Feinberg’s predicament is not the only cause for concern. Even just the enforcement action against the agents has raised concerns of a broader culture of retaliation in the bureau. So when Emil Bove was recently confirmed to an influential federal appeals court, he was hardly the only one in a celebratory mood. In a personal memo, he accused senior leaders within the FBI of insubordination. This memo coincided with Brian Driscoll’s departure as acting FBI director, which occurred shortly after Trump’s inauguration.
Even more broadly, the FBI Agents Association has strongly opposed these developments. They argued that agents have no case selection discretion. These agents should be applauded for executing those assignments professionally and with integrity, always following the law. Of course, they sounded a lot like Senator Warner. They argued that terminating these border agents without due process puts the American people at greater risk.
This sudden reassignment of these agents is notable given the ongoing concern about the political motivations behind such acts. What has observers most worried is a deepening culture of secrecy within the institution. This flawed institution is charged with tasks including enforcing national security and protecting the rule of law.
The context for that retaliation is important. The FBI is now investigating the firings and reassignments to pursue every possible legal avenue to protect those fired. The agency’s actions have prompted discussions about independence and accountability within law enforcement agencies and raised questions about how political climates can influence operational integrity.