Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs A judge appointed by former President Joe Biden has been assigned both lawsuits filed by FBI agents against the Department of Justice (DOJ).Two groups of FBI agents have filed suits against the DOJ, which oversees the bureau, to prevent it from gathering information on the agents and employees within the FBI who investigated President Donald Trump and defendants charged in the January 6 Capitol riot. The agents’ concern is that this information will be used to intimidate and fire them.The suits say that up to 6,000 FBI agents could be fired by the DOJ and that this is not only “unlawful” but would be “catastrophic to national security.”The federal judge set to oversee both of the lawsuits is Jia Cobb, who was nominated by Biden and approved by the Senate in 2021.
Pictured is the seal outside the FBI building in Washington, D.C.
Pictured is the seal outside the FBI building in Washington, D.C.
Aaron M. Sprecher via AP
Why It MattersThe FBI agents suing the DOJ have said that using their public information to fire them would violate civil service protections. They also fear that any disclosure of their names and roles in the bureau will put them at physical risk from pardoned January 6 rioters who have called for revenge.Judges are supposed to be nonpartisan, and Cobb has given no public indication that her nomination by Biden will influence her decision in this case.What To KnowFBI agents and staffers who worked throughout the Biden administration on the two criminal investigations of Trump, as well as agents who worked to convict people who took part in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, fear their jobs are at risk following the DOJ’s attempt to gain information on their work during the Biden years.One of the lawsuits brought against the DOJ says: “On Friday, January 31, Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove ‘told the top federal prosecutors in each state to compile a list of all prosecutors and FBI agents who worked on the investigation of the Capitol riot’…. Bove did so by issuing a memo entitled ‘Terminations.'”The lawsuit expressed concern that “acting leadership at the Department of Justice has begun to take steps towards the mass, unlawful termination of Bureau employees who had any involvement in certain investigations related to President Trump, including Jan. 6 cases, and the lawful search of President Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago [for classified documents].”This is not the first move by Trump to fire people who participated in investigations of the current president. Last week, the DOJ fired over 12 prosecutors involved in former special counsel Jack Smith’s two criminal cases against Trump, one involving interference in the 2020 election and the other concerning the classified documents.The first case against the DOJ has been brought by nine FBI agents as a class-action lawsuit “on behalf of themselves and all similarly situated current and former agents and/or employees” of the FBI.This case says that the DOJ is violating the agents’ First Amendment rights by retaliating against them based on a political perception, violating the Fifth Amendment by violating their right to due process and their right to privacy, and violating the Privacy Act of 1974. The agents have asked for a jury trial.The second case against the DOJ has been brought by seven FBI agents. It says that the DOJ is violating the Privacy Act and the 1946 Administrative Procedure Act. The case also says that the agents are being subject to unlawful, intimidating and threatening behavior and that they are being subjected to political retaliation as well as reputational harm.The suit discusses a survey that was sent out to gather information on people who worked on the January 6 cases. The plaintiffs say the survey was sent to many people who had little or no role in the investigations but was not sent to many who did actively work on January 6 cases, raising concern that the “Department of Justice is currently in a state of transitional disorganization and has been unable to confirm the accuracy of this basic informational data of its members.”This case states that “public disclosures [to a survey sent out across the FBI] would directly put the safety of all impacted individuals at risk as well as their family members.”Cobb is a U.S. District Court judge for the District of Columbia. She graduated from Harvard Law School in 2005 and was commissioned to take her current seat on November 10, 2021.Cobb also sentenced several January 6 rioters. One of them, Ryan Samsel, threatened to “put Judge Cobb…in a broom closet. That b***h” when he was contemplating re-storming the Capitol if Kamala Harris won the 2024 election, according to his sentencing memo.What People Are SayingJohn and Jane Does 1-9 employees/agents of the FBI, on behalf of themselves and those similarly situated, said in their suit: “Whatever the Trump administration believes about Plaintiffs’ political affiliation, it clearly believes that persons who were involved in the investigation and prosecution of Jan. 6 and Mar-a-Lago cases are insufficiently politically affiliated with Donald Trump to be entitled to retain their employment.”What Happens NextCobb has ordered a hearing for Thursday morning, Lawfare’s Roger Parloff reported on X (formerly Twitter).She has ordered the government to alert her if it intends to take action regarding any of the claims in the suit before the hearing. If so, she will move the hearing up to an earlier time, Parloff’s post said.Judge Jia Cobb sets hearing on TRO motions in both FBI Agents cases for tomorrow morning. Orders DOJ to advise if it plans to act before then in which case she’ll order an earlier hearing. pic.twitter.com/VWVE4qFSbE— Roger Parloff (@rparloff) February 5, 2025
