FBI Director Kash Patel is accused of unlawfully dismissing senior Bureau officials on the orders of the Trump administration in an alleged effort to transform the agency into a political instrument of the White House, according to a federal lawsuit filed on Tuesday.
The 68-page complaint, lodged in the US District Court in Washington, was brought by former acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll Jr., alongside former senior officials Steven Jensen and Spencer Evans. The trio allege they were subjected to politically driven retribution, in violation of their constitutional and legal rights.
The suit names Patel, the FBI, Attorney General Pam Bondi, the Department of Justice, and the Trump administration as defendants. It claims Patel’s conduct contradicted assurances he gave during his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing, where he pledged that “all FBI employees will be protected against political retribution.”
According to the filing, Patel privately acknowledged to Driscoll that dismissing agents without cause would breach internal FBI rules and likely federal law. Driscoll, who was removed from his post after refusing to compile a list of personnel involved in the investigation of the 6 January 2021 attack on the US Capitol, said in a statement that his actions were motivated by principle. “I hope this effort results in protecting others who did no harm and committed no misconduct from wrongful consequences,” he added.
Mark Zaid, counsel for the plaintiffs, alleged the Bureau had been “completely politicised by individuals whose interests are contrary to the pursuit of law and order and the protection of our country’s national security.” He said the case illustrated how the administration had sought to “destroy the FBI” and retaliate against perceived opponents.
The lawsuit details a series of incidents the plaintiffs say demonstrate that their abrupt dismissals in August 2025 were unconstitutional and part of a broader campaign of vengeance within the Bureau.
It alleges Patel told Driscoll that senior figures at the Justice Department and the White House had directed him to remove anyone linked to “the cases against President Trump… regardless of their retirement eligibility status.” Patel is said to have remarked that “the FBI tried to put the president in jail and he hasn’t forgotten it.”
The complaint further claims that Emil Bove, then acting deputy attorney general and now a federal judge, demanded a list of all FBI staff connected to the Capitol riot investigations, stating that dismissals would be based on perceived loyalty to the president’s agenda. When Driscoll objected, Bove allegedly cited pressure from the White House.
In a separate incident, former deputy FBI director Dan Bongino is accused of urging Jensen, then head of the Bureau’s Washington field office, to dismiss a veteran agent over unsubstantiated allegations relating to a case involving a former Trump associate. Jensen refused, warning that such action would contravene FBI policy and protections for veteran employees.
The defendants have not yet publicly responded to the allegations.
