WASHINGTON — Thousands of FBI employees who participated in investigations related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol are being asked to complete in-depth questionnaires about their involvement in the inquiries as the Trump administration Justice Department weighs disciplinary actions that could result in firings.
The questions, which were described to The Associated Press by a person familiar with the matter, ask employees to describe their office and title and to specify their involvement in the Jan. 6 investigations, including whether they participated in search warrants, conducted interviews and testified at trial.
The survey is in keeping with an extraordinary Justice Department directive Friday for the names, titles and offices of all FBI employees who worked on investigations related to Jan. 6, when pro-Trump rioters who stormed the Capitol triggered a violent and bloody clash with law enforcement in a massive attempt to block the certification of election results.
A memo from acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, who defended Trump in his criminal cases before joining the administration, said Justice Department officials would then carry out a “review process to determine whether any additional personnel actions are necessary.”
That’s on top of the forced departures of more than a half-dozen senior FBI executives, the reassignment last month of several key career Justice Department officials, as well as the firings of roughly two dozen employees at the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington who participated in the Jan. 6 investigations.
The scrutiny of career agents is highly unusual given that rank-and-file FBI agents do not select the cases they are assigned to work on, do not historically switch positions or receive any sort of discipline because of their participation in politically sensitive cases and especially because there’s been no evidence any FBI agents or lawyers who investigated or prosecuted the cases engaged in misconduct.
Of the more than 1,500 people who were charged with federal crimes in the Jan. 6 riot, more than 1,000 people pleaded guilty, including more than 200 who admitted to assault. Another roughly 250 people were convicted of crimes by a judge or a jury after a trial.
Some 4,000 agents, analysts and other employees are believed to have been sent the questionnaires, said the person, who insisted on anonymity to discuss internal communications. The questionnaires were sent on Sunday, with a Monday deadline for completion.
In its own memo to employees, the FBI Agents Association said it was working to gather additional information about the surveys but reassured agents that being a recipient does not in any way indicate misconduct.
“We understand that this feels like agents and employees are being targeted, despite repeated assurances that “all FBI employees will be protected against political retribution,” the memo states. “Employees carrying out their duties to investigate allegations of criminal activity with integrity and within the rule of law should never be treated as those who have engaged in actual misconduct.”
The memo also said that if misconduct allegations were to arise, the “FBI has a long-standing and robust process that aims to provide due process in accordance with policies and law.” It recommends that employees write on the survey that they have been given no clarity about how their answers are being used and to state that their actions in connection with the investigations followed federal law, FBI policy and the Constitution.
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