Justice Department agrees not to publicly reveal names of FBI agents who worked on Jan. 6 cases
Washington — The Justice Department said the federal government would not publicly release the names of FBI agents who worked on the now-closed investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, according to a court order filed Friday.
The Justice Department and a group of unnamed FBI agents reached an agreement in which the government said it would not disclose a list of the agents’ names that was compiled by the FBI and transmitted to the Justice Department on Tuesday unless there is two days’ notice given to the agents.
The two sides agreed to the order following a hearing Thursday as part of two cases filed by anonymous FBI agents and the FBI Agents Association earlier this week that sought to preemptively stop the Justice Department from publicizing the list of agents.
Natalie Bara, president of the FBI Agents Association, said the group welcomes the order, which allows them to return to court and challenge any planned disclosure of the agents’ and employees’ names.
“This is an important step in the right direction to protect those who protect us — FBI agents who have dedicated their careers to upholding the rule of law and defending our country,” she said in a statement. “This agreement provides critical safeguards, preventing immediate public exposure or retaliation and ensuring that FBI Agents can remain focused on protecting the American people. We appreciate the court’s recognition of the serious concerns at stake.”
President Trump told reporters at the White House that he is not planning to fire all FBI employees who worked on the Jan. 6 investigations, but would terminate “some” because, he said, they were “corrupt.”
“I got to know a lot about that business, that world. I got to know a lot about that world, and we had some corrupt agents, and those people are gone, or they will be gone, and it will be done quickly and very surgically,” he said.
U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb, who is overseeing the pair of cases, issued a brief administrative stay that prevented the Justice Department from disclosing the list to anyone outside the department while negotiations between lawyers for the FBI agents and the department continued overnight.
They were set to reconvene to continue the hearing Friday, but it was called off given the deal. The Justice Department and FBI agents agreed to file their briefs about a more permanent injunction later this month and into March, and Cobb set a hearing for March 27.
Last week, acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove ordered Acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll to compile a list of all current and former FBI employees who were assigned “at any time” to a Jan. 6 investigation “to determine whether any additional personnel actions are necessary,” according to a memo reviewed by CBS News. In response, agents across the country were asked Sunday to complete questionnaires about their involvement in the Jan. 6 and Trump probes as part of a Justice Department evaluation of the workforce.
Initially, the FBI handed over employee identification numbers and other identifying information for over 5,000 personnel who responded to the survey. However, sources confirmed to CBS News that Driscoll was later ordered to submit the actual names of the FBI employees who investigated Jan. 6 cases. In a message to FBI employees, Driscoll wrote he had complied with the orders and the names were sent via a classified system, sources said.
The Justice Department confirmed in the latest court filing that it informed lawyers for the FBI agents that brought the lawsuits that a record pairing the employee identification numbers on the list with the corresponding names of FBI personnel had been given to the Justice Department.
In a separate memo obtained by CBS News, Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove told FBI employees that agents who followed orders and carried out their duties throughout the Jan. 6 probes in an “ethical manner” would not be subject to any disciplinary action. Bove also revealed acting FBI leadership refused to comply with initial efforts to identify certain agents tied to the probes in what he called instances of “insubordination.”
It remains unclear what personnel action, if any, Justice Department leaders might take based on the list of names. Lawyers for the FBI agents involved in the lawsuit have warned that the purpose of the list is to identify agents for “adverse employment action” as a result of their work on the Jan. 6 probes.
Roughly a dozen Justice Department employees who worked on former special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation and prosecutions of Mr. Trump — which were dismissed after he was elected in November — were fired, sources confirmed to CBS News last month. A Justice Department official said they were terminated because then-Acting Attorney General James McHenry “did not believe these officials could be trusted to faithfully implement the president’s agenda because of their significant role in prosecuting the president.”
And a separate group of federal prosecutors inside the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., who were hired on an interim basis to work on the Capitol attack probes were also let go, according to a letter reviewed by CBS News last week.
The personnel moves come amid leadership changes within the Justice Department. Attorney General Pam Bondi was sworn in on Wednesday after the Senate approved her nomination for the top job. The FBI is operating under acting leadership as Mr. Trump’s nominee to serve as director, Kash Patel, awaits confirmation. His nomination was set to advance to a vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, but Democrats sought a week delay for further consideration.
Lawyers for the FBI agents had warned that if the identities of bureau personnel who worked on the Jan. 6 cases were to be made public, it would put them and their families at risk. They noted during the hearing Thursday that since the start of Mr. Trump’s second term, the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency, led by billionaire Elon Musk, has already publicized the names of federal employees.
Some people who received pardons from Mr. Trump for crimes committed on Jan. 6 have also taken to social media to threaten to target FBI workers.
Pat Milton and
contributed to this report.