WASHINGTON – Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Vice Chairman Mark R. Warner (D-VA) released the following statement on press reporting that more experienced Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) leaders – including a former acting FBI director and the acting director of the Washington field office – have been fired without explanation by FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino:

“The continued purging of experienced, nonpartisan FBI agents by the Trump administration is nothing short of alarming. These are individuals who have dedicated their careers to protecting the American people, and their firings are part of a disturbing pattern of retaliation and politicization at an institution charged with safeguarding national security and the rule of law. The American people deserve to know that federal law enforcement is free to follow the evidence without fear of retribution from the White House or its lackeys.

“President Trump may believe he can manipulate the levers of power to serve his own ends, but history will not judge this recklessness kindly, and neither should Congress.”

Warner has been vocal in warning that the Trump administration’s repeated purges of experienced FBI agents are making Americans less safe.

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