The fallout from a notorious 2023 FBI intelligence memo reached a climax on Friday as several analysts involved in its creation were fired. The terminations mark the latest wave of accountability and staff departures under the bureau’s current director, Kash Patel.
According to their attorney, David Laufman, the casualties of Friday’s sweep included four intelligence analysts and one supervisory analyst. The FBI has declined to comment.
The firings stem from a January 2023 document produced by the FBI’s Richmond, Virginia, field office. The internal product sought to link what it labeled “Radical Traditionalist Catholic” ideology to racially motivated violent extremists, suggesting new avenues for surveillance and source development within houses of worship.
The document immediately became a political lightning rod. Congressional Republicans repeatedly pointed to the memo as glaring evidence that federal law enforcement, under the Biden administration, was weaponizing its power to target conservatives and religious Americans.
When the memo first leaked, top officials scrambled to damage-control. Then-Director Chris Wray retracted the document, and then-Attorney General Merrick Garland stated he was “appalled” by it.
An internal review later conceded that the authors failed to adhere to basic analytical standards and improperly linked religious practices to violent extremism without sufficient evidence, creating the appearance that the FBI was targeting citizens based on their religious affiliation. However, a 2024 Justice Department inspector general report claimed there was “no evidence of a malicious intent or an improper purpose.”
Because previous reviews characterized the incident as bad tradecraft rather than deliberate misconduct, the analysts’ legal counsel fiercely criticized the sudden terminations.
“This action is manifestly unjust, completely unsupported by the facts, and subverts standard FBI policy and procedure,” Laufman said in a statement. “These individuals deserved far better for the exceptional and faithful public service they rendered to protect our country.”
The dismissals align with a broader effort by Patel, a Trump loyalist, to overhaul personnel at the bureau. Over the past year, Patel has pushed out dozens of FBI employees who either drove investigations into Donald Trump or were viewed as out of alignment with the current administration’s reform goals.
This includes the February termination of counterintelligence agents who participated in the raid and investigation regarding Trump’s handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.
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