James Dennehy, the head of the FBI’s New York field office, was forced to resign on Monday after resisting the Trump administration’s effort to purge all agents involved in the January 6 Capitol riot investigations. His removal is part of a broader push by Trump to eliminate anyone who played a role in holding January 6th rioters accountable for their crimes.
Dennehy confirmed in an email to colleagues that he had been ordered to retire immediately. “Late Friday, I was informed that I needed to put my retirement papers in today, which I just did,” he wrote. “I was not given a reason for this decision.” Sources familiar with the matter said Dennehy was given the option to resign or be fired.
His exit follows a request from the Trump Justice Department, led by acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, to obtain a list of all FBI employees who worked on cases against Trump supporters involved in the January 6 attack. The request, along with the removal of several senior FBI officials involved in past Trump-related investigations, has raised concerns within the agency about retaliation.
Dennehy was one of the officials who pushed back, writing to his staff last month that, “Today, we find ourselves in the middle of a battle of our own as good people are being walked out of the FBI… Time for me to dig in.”
Dennehy’s forced resignation follows a trend. Trump’s newly appointed FBI Director, Kash Patel, has led the FBI in ousting multiple senior officials within days of his appointment.
Dennehy left his colleagues with a final message, “I will never stop defending this joint. I’ll just do it willingly and proudly from outside the wire.”
