In America, 9 former FBI employees have filed a case against their own department. He alleges that he was fired for his work on an investigation into President Donald Trump’s classified documents. The case relates to an investigation into confidential documents found at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. The investigation was led by former special counsel Jack Smith. The 70-page lawsuit was filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, according to CBS News. The FBI, its director Kash Patel, Attorney General Todd Blanch and the Department of Justice have been made parties.

The plaintiffs include Jennifer Bacon, Jack Feldman, Gilbert Granados, Kathryn Herrera, Harrison Kaufman, Jeremy Linton, Erin Metanik, Daniel Ray and Rachel Vaccaro. They include special agents, intelligence analysts and other personnel. All worked in counterintelligence investigations. He also worked on cases related to the Boston Marathon bombings and the attempted assassination of Trump in Butler County, Pennsylvania. All of them were fired from their jobs within two days in February 2026. According to the petition, neither an internal investigation nor disciplinary action was taken before the dismissal. The employees were not even given an opportunity to present their side, be heard or appeal. He alleges that he was removed due to personal grudge and revenge of the President.

Why was Article II cited?

Article II of the US Constitution deals with the office of the President and his powers. According to The Hill, the administration cited this right to fire employees. The petition said that this Aadhaar is being used to determine the political loyalty of government employees. Todd Blanch also said that the FBI has been reshuffled by removing staff working on investigations related to the president.

What is the charge against Kash Patel?

Jennifer Bacon, head of the FBI’s counterintelligence division, learned of the firing when Agent Miles Starr requested files related to the classified investigation, according to CBS News. The probe was codenamed plasmic echo.

On February 23, the Star sent an email to assistant director Roman Rozawski demanding immediate access to the files. He said he was doing this on the instructions of Patel. Bacon allowed all files except one specific sub-file. According to the petition, the files contained the names of nine employees. In less than 48 hours, eight employees were fired on day one and on day nine.

The petition also said Patel had faced criticism at the time for a video of him partying with the American men’s hockey team in Italy. On February 25, he told Reuters that the phone records of him and White House Chief of Staff Suzy Wiles had been sought as part of an investigation into classified documents. The employees allege that Patel violated a confidentiality order related to the case and then fired them.

What was wrong with the documents?

The FBI discovered Mar-a-Lago in August 2022. In 2023, Jack Smith’s team filed more than three dozen charges against Trump. A federal judge dismissed the case, calling Smith’s appointment illegal. The Justice Department also withdrew its appeal against the decision after Trump won the election in 2024.