MSNBC News reporter Carol Leonnig posted a "rare" rebuke of the director of the FBI from the agents' own association.
In a statement on Tuesday, the FBI Agents Association addressed the ongoing "chaos" under the leadership of Director Kash Patel.
"The actions yesterday — in which FBI Special Agents were terminated and then reinstated shortly after — highlight the chaos that occurs when long-standing policies and processes are ignored. An Agent simply being assigned to an investigation and conducting it appropriately within the law should never be grounds for termination," the statement began.
It goes on to specifically call out Patel and a casual commitment to the law.
"Director Patel has disregarded the law and launched a campaign of erratic and arbitrary retribution. FBI Agents deal in facts, and we urge Director Patel to do the same. When leadership abandons due process, it doesn't just erode trust — it makes the American public less safe. FBI Agents must be free to focus on protecting the American people, not fearing losing their jobs over third-party social media posts," the statement closed.
One of the agents targeted was Jeremy Desor. Over the past several days, he has been the target of social media attacks at the behest of Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA). The Republican publicly "released more than 1,000 pages of subpoenas from Smith's investigation, code-named 'Arctic Frost,' into attempts to keep Trump in power after he lost the 2020 election to his Democratic rival, Joe Biden. The subpoenas did not redact any of the names of the FBI or Justice Department employees who were involved," Reuters reported on Monday.
Grassley was behind another one, Jamie Garman, whose name was also in the records. Garman was placed on leave several weeks ago.
The other two were Blaire Toleman, who was working out of the Chicago office, and David Geist, a previous assistant special agent in charge in the Washington Field office during the Trump probe, said Reuters. Toleman specifically led the public corruption squad.
Meanwhile, Patel has been accused of using a government jet to visit his girlfriend. Patel fired the person in charge of organizing the fleet after the revelation came to light.