Three former high-ranking FBI agents are suing Director Kash Patel in a suit seeking reinstatements to their posts, saying they were fired as part of a retribution campaign directed by highest levels of the Trump administration.

Brian Driscoll, who served as acting director before Patel was confirmed, rebuffed early requests to turn over a list of all agents who worked on Jan. 6 cases. He was fired in August, as was Steve Jensen, the assistant director in charge of the Washington field office, and Spencer Evans, the special agent in charge of the Las Vegas field office.

The 68-page suit alleges that Patel and others “initiated a campaign of retribution against Plaintiffs for what Defendants deemed to be a failure to demonstrate sufficient political loyalty.”

“His decision to do so degraded the country’s national security by firing three of the FBI’s most experienced operational leaders, each of them experts in preventing terrorism and reducing violent crime,” the suit states.

The suit also alleges the firings appear to have been ordered by people higher up in the the Trump administration. Driscoll in the suit said Patel failed to dispute that characterization in a conversation the two had, during which Patel said he knew the firings were likely illegal.

“Patel explained that he had to fire the people his superiors told him to fire, because his ability to keep his own job depended on the removal of the agents who worked on cases involving the President,” the suit says, recounting a conversation between the two men just days before the firings.

Patel explained that there was nothing he or Driscoll could do to stop these or any other firings, because “the FBI tried to put the President in jail and he hasn’t forgotten it.” Driscoll indicated his belief that Patel’s reference to his superiors meant the Justice Department and the White House, and Patel did not deny it.

“When Driscoll explained that firing employees based on case assignments would be in direct violation of internal FBI processes meant to adjudicate adverse actions and prevent retaliation based on case assignments, Patel said that he understood that and he knew the nature of the summary firings were likely illegal and that he could be sued and later deposed,” the suit added.

The FBI declined to comment on the suit.

Driscoll has become something of a hero in FBI circles for refusing to comply with a request to turn over the list of the thousands who investigated Jan. 6 cases, a group he said earlier this year included himself.

Jensen meanwhile had recently been praised by Patel for his work on Jan. 6 cases, and the suit details that Patel sought Jensen out for a massive promotion because he had heard that the special agent had emphasized prosecuting violent crimes in connection with the riot rather than trespassing. 

The suit said his promotion set off a “firestorm,” with critics of the Jan. 6 prosecutions and that “neither Patel nor Bongino appeared to have anticipated the backlash from President Trump’s political base.”

The suit sheds further light on a number of previously reported conflicts between FBI career staff and the Trump administration, describing months of interactions between the top staff.

That includes the Trump transition team pressing Driscoll to share who he voted for and express support for Trump. Though Driscoll apparently “failed” the vetting interview, Emil Bove, then set to serve in the No. 3 role at the Justice Department intervened, backing Driscoll after working with him when Bove was a prosecutor. 

In the week following the Inauguration, Bove, who is now a circuit court judge, said White House aide Stephen Miller wanted to see widespread firings at FBI, and Bove said he planned to terminate anyone where he felt a “loss of confidence in their ability to carry out the President’s agenda.” 

In the first few months of the Trump administration, the Justice Department fired waves of prosecutors as well as FBI personnel, including all top career officials.

But Bove continued to press Driscoll for a list of the “core January 6 team” – something Driscoll said did not exist, as a wide group of agents worked on the mammoth investigation.

“To emphasize the magnitude and breadth of Bove’s request, Driscoll explained that Driscoll himself would be on the list. He also explained that if that list were ever leaked or made public, the affected FBI employees would potentially face threats, physical and/or otherwise. In response, Bove said he believed there was ‘cultural rot’ within the FBI,” the suit says.

“When asked what process would be used to conduct the review, Bove would not provide any other response other than ‘a DOJ-led review,’ which Driscoll believed would consist of DOJ’s assessment as to whether an employee supported the President’s political agenda.”

After Patel was confirmed, the director asked Driscoll to pull together a list of poor leaders within the FBI, “to which Driscoll stated that he would not be the ‘judge, jury, and executioner.’”

The suit said the unpopular actions from Bove led to low morale at the bureau, but it also led to a “ groundswell of support within the FBI for Driscoll’s and [then-Deputy Director Robert] Kissane’s leadership.”

Known internally as Drizz, Driscoll’s pushback to the Trump administration sparked numerous memes in his honor, with one depicting him as a saint and another asking “What Would Drizz Do?”

Others more negatively portrayed Bove.

“Bove told Driscoll that he was angry that, in parody videos apparently created by FBI employees, Bove was portrayed as the Batman villain ‘Bane,’ while Driscoll was portrayed as ‘Batman.’ Driscoll responded that he did not make the video, nor could he control unknown individuals’ feelings or expressions of said feelings,’ the suit states.

In addition to heat over Jensen’s promotion, his firing came after he pushed back against plans to reveal the name of Walter Giardina, an agent who has multiple high profile cases, including the investigations into Trump.

Patel planned to do so as Giardina’s wife was expected to die imminently after a battle with cancer, with Jensen asking the director to delay a planned release to Congress that would include unredacted mentions to the FBI agent.

“As should have been clear to Patel and any other FBI official, any disclosure of the name of an FBI agent who worked a case involving President Trump would immediately trigger a torrent of online abuse and threats of violence. In Jensen’s opinion, for Giardina and his family to have to deal with this during such an emotional time seemed inexcusably cruel,” the suit states.

Patel appeared to appreciate the sentiment, presenting Jensen with a challenge coin as well as a cigar from Trump’s Inauguration.

Giardina was fired the same day as Jensen.

The suit goes on to allege Evans was fired “based on false allegations of misconduct surrounding COVID protocols” from his time as a head of the human resources division.

Though Evans said he recalls approving all exemptions to getting the COVID vaccine, the suit describes a disgruntled employee who claims he was fired due to the FBI’s COVID policy.

“Shortly after January 2024, Evans learned that this ex-agent had been airing his grievances on social media against Evans and other FBI leaders since at least 2022 and had developed a close relationship with Patel. Since the inauguration, this ex-agent has claimed that he had advised Patel prior to his confirmation to fire Evans as soon as he was confirmed and that Patel had agreed,” the suit states, referencing a posted screenshot of conversations in which a contact listed as Kash said Evans would be “f–ked.”

Numerous portions of the suit detail lapses in knowledge by top FBI officials.

In one exchange detailed in the suit, Deputy Director Dan Bongino was upset the FBI was about to burn documents from the Crossfire Hurricane investigation into Trump, apparently unaware the bureau would keep digital records.

“Bongino explained that he had found a room filled with classified documents and ‘burn bags’ related to the now-closed Crossfire Hurricane investigation. He expressed shock at the existence of these burn bags. By his comments, it seemed to Jensen that Bongino might not have been fully aware that the use of ‘burn bags’ is a standard method across multiple federal agencies for preparing classified material for destruction when an investigation is deemed closed, or when physical copies of the materials are no longer necessary,” the suit states.

“He also appeared unaware that the FBI also stored digital copies of materials on the FBI’s classified computer system, and that this was likely the case with these materials.”

—Updated at 3:44 p.m. EDT