Nine ex-FBI staff from Trump documents case sue Patel and Blanche over firings

Left · 2Nine former FBI employees who worked on the investigation into President Donald Trump's retention of classified documents sued on Thursday 15 October 2026, saying their firings were unlawful. 1 2 Left · 1The 70-page suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and names the FBI, Patel, Blanche and the Department of Justice as defendants. 2 Left · 2The plaintiffs are special agents, intelligence analysts and staff operations specialists. They are named as Jennifer Bacon, Zach Feldman, Gilbert Granados, Catherine Herrera, Harrison Kaufman, Jeremy Linton, Erin Matanic, Danielle Ray and Rachel Vaccaro, and they were fired in February 2026, eight on one day and the ninth the next. 1 2

Mixed · 2They allege they were fired without cause, notice, hearing or appeal, with Patel relying solely on 'Article II' of the Constitution, and that the aim was political retribution, which the suit calls the President's 'personal vendetta'. 2 3 Left · 1According to the suit, their termination letters, signed by Patel, cited 'poor judgment and a lack of impartiality' leading to 'the political weaponization of the government'. The suit says this was false, and that Patel later told Congress they were fired for cause after internal investigations, which it also says is untrue. 1 Right · 1Just the News reports Patel told Congress the employees he fired had 'weaponized' the FBI; the lawsuit denies this, citing a combined century of apolitical service. 3

Left · 2The suit alleges that on 23 February, Special Agent Miles Starr, of Patel's Director's Advisory Team, urgently sought access to the case files of 'Plasmic Echo', the code name for the documents investigation, saying he acted on Patel's instructions. The files held the names of all nine plaintiffs, and less than 48 hours later they were fired. 2 1 Left · 2The suit also links the timing to coverage of Patel at the Winter Olympics in Milan, where video showed him drinking beer and flinging alcohol in the U.S. men's hockey team's locker room, and suggests the firings may have been a distraction. One special agent in charge told to inform Feldman reportedly surmised the firing might be related to those reports. 2 1 Left · 2The complaint cites public statements by Trump, Patel, Blanche and others as evidence of animus. CBS reports it quotes Blanche, then deputy attorney general, saying the administration had 'cleaned house' at the FBI by firing employees tied to investigations involving the president. 2 1

Left · 1The plaintiffs say they were assigned to the case through their counterintelligence squads, did not volunteer, and worked apolitically. They also say their firings left sensitive counterintelligence and counterterrorism investigations improperly transferred, harming national security. 1 Mixed · 2They seek reinstatement and back pay. Their attorneys, Margaret Donovan, Abbe Lowell and Rebecca Tinio, said the suit would prove the dismissals unlawful and hold the administration accountable for a 'blatant attack on the rule of law'. 1 3 Left · 2Background: Trump was indicted in 2023 over the documents. Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case, finding special counsel Jack Smith unlawfully appointed, and the Justice Department dropped its appeal after Trump won the 2024 election. 1 2

Left · 2The suit follows other firings and suits: CBS calls it the latest in a growing number, and NBC notes two ex-agents sued earlier this year over 'Arctic Frost', a case the Justice Department has moved to dismiss. NBC and CBS both said they had asked the FBI and Justice Department for comment, and no response was reported. 2 1