Without notice or hearings, 9 fired FBI employees alleging unlawful termination over work on Trump documents case sue

Lawsuit challenges the firings

The suit says FBI Director Kash Patel relied on Article II of the Constitution to justify the dismissals. It also cites public comments by senior Justice Department officials and Trump as evidence that political hostility motivated the firings.

Background to the records case

FBI agents searched Mar-a-Lago in August 2022 and allegedly found more than 100 documents bearing classified markings. Smith’s office indicted Trump in 2023 on more than three dozen charges concerning alleged retention of the records and efforts to obstruct their return.

The federal judge overseeing the case dismissed the charges, ruling that Smith had been unlawfully appointed special counsel. After Trump won the 2024 election, the Justice Department formally dropped its appeal of that ruling.

Suit describes events around dismissals

The lawsuit provides details about events surrounding the terminations. It says Starr served on Patel’s Director’s Advisory Team, made up of agents from across the country who support the director’s policy goals.

According to the suit, Starr emailed Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky on Feb. 23 seeking urgent access to the Plasmic Echo case files. A special agent assigned to notify former special agent Zach Feldman reportedly speculated that his firing might be tied to news reports that day about Patel drinking alcohol at the Winter Olympics.

Attorneys describe plaintiffs’ service

In a joint statement, attorneys Margaret Donovan, Abbe Lowell and Rebecca Tinio said the former agents and analysts had more than a century of experience combined. They cited work investigating national security and defense information leaks, countering threats and attacks, and responding to incidents including the Boston Marathon bombing.