Brian Driscoll, who briefly served as acting director of the FBI in the early days of the second Trump administration, is being pushed out of the bureau, two sources familiar with the matter told CBS News.
Driscoll must vacate his current role at the bureau’s Washington field office by Friday, the sources said. The same goes for Steve Jensen, assistant director in charge of the bureau’s Washington field office.
Brian Driscoll, former acting FBI director.
FBI
It was not immediately clear why Driscoll, Jensen and Giardina are being terminated. At least one other FBI official has been ousted, sources said.
The Justice Department declined to comment on the firings.
The FBI Agents Association said in a statement that it was “deeply concerned by reports that FBI Special Agents—case agents and senior leaders alike—are going to be summarily fired without due process for doing their jobs investigating potential federal crimes.”
The association also said that FBI agents who are subject to employment actions are entitled to a review process, which the bureau’s leaders had committed to abide by. The group said it’s reviewing its legal options to defend its members.
In an email to his team Thursday, Driscoll confirmed that his last day at the FBI would be Friday and told his colleagues that it was “the honor of my life to serve alongside each of you,” and said he wasn’t given a reason for his termination.
“I understand that you may have a lot of questions regarding why, for which I currently have no answers. No cause has been articulated at this time,” Driscoll wrote.
Driscoll, who has been awarded the FBI Medal of Valor and the FBI Shield of Bravery, was thrust into the limelight this year when he was briefly named to head the nation’s largest federal law enforcement agency. He served a month in that position while Kash Patel’s nomination to serve as director was under consideration by the Senate.
During his brief tenure as acting director, Driscoll recorded a speech lauding the FBI’s agents for their work combating drug trafficking and violent crime.
“You’ve heard the FBI always gets its man, but our work is never done,” Driscoll said.
Jensen also confirmed in a letter to Washington field office colleagues that he was fired Wednesday night.
“I intend to meet this challenge like any other I have faced in this organization, with professionalism, integrity, and dignity,” he wrote. He thanked the field office for its work and urged his colleagues, “Never waver in your resolve to answer the call to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution. Continue to be bold and aggressive in the pursuit of justice. Most importantly, stay safe and take care of each other.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
contributed to this report.
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