A senior FBI official who briefly took the role of acting director at the beginning of President Donald Trump's second term has been fired.
The official, Brian Driscoll, was under the spotlight when he resisted a Justice Department order to turn over a list of agents who had worked on January 6 cases.
Driscoll, who had been with the agency for almost 20 years, disclosed his firing in an email to colleagues, where he revealed he was not given a reason for his dismissal.
"Last night I was informed that tomorrow will be my last day in the FBI. I understand that you may have a lot of questions regarding why, for which I currently have no answers," the email said.
He added, "it has been the honour of my life to serve alongside each of you. Thank you for allowing me to stand on your shoulders throughout it all. Our collective sacrifices for those we serve is, and will always be, worth it. I regret nothing. You are my heroes and I remain in your debt."
Driscoll, who had previously served on the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team and had been the agent-in-charge of the Newark, New Jersey, field office, was named acting director while Trump nominee Kash Patel went through the confirmation process.
The request for thousands of names of FBI agents involved in investigating suspects who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 came from then-Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, who wrote in a memo that the list of names would be reviewed for any firing or "personnel actions."
Furthermore, the sources have named Steve Jensen as another senior official who lost his job after playing a key role in the Jan. 6 investigations.
Jensen, who also had a nearly 20-year career with the FBI, had previously served as the section chief of the Domestic Terrorism Operations Section at FBI headquarters in Washington.
A group representing FBI agents criticised the firings in a statement that suggested there had been additional terminations.
