Nine former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) employees sued over their February 2026 dismissals, alleging they were punished for assigned work on the classified-documents investigation of President Donald Trump and asking a federal court to restore their jobs.
Filed Oct. 15 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the suit names FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Todd Blanche in their official capacities, along with the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The plaintiffs include former special agents, staff operations specialists and intelligence analysts. They seek reinstatement, back pay, a declaration that their rights were violated and legal fees.
The complaint says the bureau assigned the employees to an inquiry internally code-named “Plasmic Echo” because of their counterintelligence and intelligence work. The plaintiffs say they did not volunteer for the investigation. Eight dismissals took effect Feb. 25, 2026, and former FBI employee Danielle Ray lost her job the following day. The filing alleges no internal investigation preceded the dismissals and that the employees received no advance notice, hearing or appeal. It says they had more than 100 years of combined FBI service.
The plaintiffs point to a Feb. 23 request for access to the investigation’s files by FBI Special Agent Miles Starr, who said he was following Patel’s instructions. Jennifer Bacon, then a counterintelligence section chief, allowed access to all but one subfile. The employees say the files Starr could view listed their names and that Bacon learned she would be fired less than 48 hours later. They cite the sequence as evidence of retaliation; no court has ruled on that allegation.
According to the complaint, letters signed by Patel faulted the employees’ judgment and impartiality, and accused them of contributing to the politicization of government. The plaintiffs allege the dismissals were meant to satisfy a personal grievance of President Donald Trump.
The Associated Press reported that Patel told Congress the employees had “weaponized” the FBI and said bureau terminations follow internal investigations that uncover inappropriate conduct. The former employees dispute that account, saying no investigation preceded their dismissals. The court has not resolved the conflicting accounts.
The FBI searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in 2022 during the classified-documents investigation. On July 15, 2024, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the indictment against Trump and two co-defendants, ruling that special counsel Jack Smith’s appointment violated the Constitution’s Appointments Clause. The new suit alleges First Amendment retaliation and violations of Fifth Amendment due-process protections. Bacon and former FBI employee Jeremy Linton also claim a separation-of-powers violation.
