Ultimatum for senior FBI officials
Senior FBI officials have been asked to resign or retire from top positions within the bureau or be fired, three sources familiar with the moves confirmed to CBS News.
The senior officials at FBI headquarters — including some with executive assistant director status — were responsible for overseeing top priorities for the bureau, for instance, national security, criminal and cyber issues, the sources said.
The changes are part of ongoing scrutiny of FBI leadership, according to the sources.
CNN first reported the news. The FBI declined to comment.
The termination of the high-ranking officials came as President Trump’s nominee to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee for his confirmation hearing. Patel sought to assuage concerns that he wouldn’t maintain the FBI’s independence and would instead follow directions from Mr. Trump to open investigations into his political adversaries.
Patel told senators that any law enforcement investigation would only be launched on “a factual, articulable legal basis to do so.”
“I would never do anything unconstitutional or unlawful and I never have,” Patel said, adding that he would “always obey the law.”
“There will be no weaponization at the FBI,” Patel promised. “There will be no retributive actions taken by any FBI should I be confirmed as FBI director.”
The Trump administration made similar demands last week of officials in the national security and criminal division at the Justice Department.
Melissa Quinn contributed to this report.
