FBI fires 10 agents who worked on probe into Trump retaining classified documents at Mar-a-Lago

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has reportedly sacked as many as 10 agents who had worked on an investigation concerning President Donald Trump's retention of some classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence. The agents who have been fired by the investigation agency had worked on former Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation, multiple US media reports mentioned.

The FBI had raided Donald Trump's residence in Florida in 2022, when he was out of office, as part of an investigation into the retention of classified documents after he left the White House following the end to his first term. The investigation has now been dropped.

FBI director Kash Patel ordered the firing of as many as 10 agents agents over their work on the case, multiple US media outlets reported. The investigation agency has not yet released a statement over the firing of the agents.

What was the investigation about?

After leaving the White House, Donald Trump had allegedly kept classified documents unsecured at his Mar-a-Lago home and thwarted efforts to retrieve them.

They included records from the Pentagon and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) about secret nuclear and defense documents, according to prosecutors.

In July 2024, US District Judge Aileen Cannon who was appointed by Donald Trump dismissed the retention of documents case against him. He also ruled that Jack Smith, who was leading the investigation, was unlawfully appointed.

While the Justice Department appealed Aileen Cannon's ruling, it dropped the case after Trump won the November 2024 presidential election.

Meanwhile, the FBI Agents Association had confirmed that some agents have indeed been fired. It also condemned the firings saying it violated "the due process rights of those who risk their lives to protect" the United States.

“These actions weaken the Bureau by stripping away critical expertise and destabilizing the workforce, undermining trust in leadership and jeopardizing the Bureau's ability to meet its recruitment goals – ultimately putting the nation at greater risk,” the association said. Also Read | 'Don't want anybody looking through my boxes,' Donald Trump's indictment states

Along with those who participated in the probe against illegal keeping of classified documents, the FBI has reportedly also fired some agents who were part of another investigation into Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

That investigation also led to criminal charges, but like the Mar-a-Lago case, was abandoned by special counsel Jack Smith after Trump won the White House in November 2024 because of longstanding Justice Department legal opinions that say sitting presidents cannot be indicted.

The reports said the firings came on the same day Kash Patel claimed authorities had obtained his phone records in relation to the Trump probes under the Biden administration, when he was not leading the agency.

(With AFP, AP inputs)