With some Republican lawmakers seemingly at war with the FBI over the Trump-Russia probe, some agents increasingly fear the GOP will blow informants' cover in their crusade to protect President Donald Trump.
Current and former law enforcement officials tell Bloomberg that "the Justice Department’s decision to give congressional Republicans access to documents about FBI investigations risks exposing sensitive sources."
One FBI agent tells Bloomberg that he's so worried about lawmakers exposing his sources that he would be reluctant to include sensitive information that could be used to identify informants in future reports. A second agent, meanwhile, says that they've had a harder time getting informants to open up recently thanks to Trump's public attacks on the FBI.
The spat over FBI documents is being seen within the agency as a vital test for new FBI Director Christopher Wray, who is being pressured by agents to resist handing over information that could compromise agents' sources.
Additionally, Bloomberg's sources say agents fear that these documents could be used to purge the FBI of all agents who do not pledge their personal loyalty to Trump.