By Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Acting U.S. Deputy Attorney General said on Wednesday that FBI agents who were following orders to work on Jan. 6 investigations are not at risk of termination, and he accused FBI leaders of “insubordination” for failing to comply with demands for information about those cases, according to a memo seen by Reuters.
“Let me be clear: No FBI employee who simply followed orders and carried out their duties in an ethical manner with respect to January 6 investigations is at risk of termination or other penalties,” wrote Emil Bove.
“The only individuals who should be concerned…are those who acted with corrupt or partisan intent.”
Bove’s memo comes one day before the Justice Department is set to square off in court against two groups of FBI employees, including the FBI Agents Association, who sued on Tuesday in a bid to protect the identities of those agents and others who investigated supporters of Donald Trump for storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
A hearing in the two cases, which have been consolidated, is scheduled for Thursday morning.
In his memo, Bove said his demand for a list of all FBI employees who worked on Jan. 6 cases came about only after the bureau’s acting leadership “refused to comply” with a request for the names of the core Washington-based Jan. 6 investigators.
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Marguerita Choy)
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