FBI Director Kash Patel has dismissed at least 10 employees involved in the investigation of classified documents at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
Background on the Dismissals
The terminations come after revelations that the FBI obtained phone records from Patel and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles during the prior administration’s probe. Patel described the actions as "outrageous and deeply alarming," stating that previous FBI leadership "secretly subpoenaed my own phone records — along with those of now White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles — using flimsy pretexts and burying the entire process in prohibited case files designed to evade all oversight."
Details of the Mar-a-Lago Investigation
The probe, led by Special Counsel Jack Smith, examined Trump’s handling of classified documents retained after leaving office in 2021. Agents conducted a raid on Mar-a-Lago in August 2022, seizing boxes of top-secret materials.
In July 2024, a federal judge dismissed the case, deeming Smith’s appointment unconstitutional. Trump has labeled the matter, along with other legal actions against him, a "witch hunt."
This story is developing.
