Three FBI officials who were fired last month by director Kash Patel have sued Patel, alleging that their terminations were politically motivated and was driven by social media bullying from MAGA loyalists. They said Patel gave in to the political pressure to protect his job and acted unlawfully.The explosive lawsuit has been brought by Brian Driscoll, the former acting FBI director for a month at the start of the second Trump administration; Steven Jensen, whom Patel made the assistant director in charge of the Washington field office; and Spencer Evans, who led the Las Vegas field office.Driscoll said he was sent feelers before Patel’s confirmation, asking him whether he would like to serve the FBI if Kash Patel became the director. He was told Patel himself would call him and in a phone call with Patel, Driscoll told him that he would serve the men and the women of the FBI, the office of the director and the office of the President. His service would be to an ‘office’ and not any politician. Patel told him that he would receive a call from the transition team of the president, which would vet. “Driscoll asked what that process might entail. Patel responded that as long as Driscoll was not prolific on social media, did not donate to the Democratic Party, and did not vote for Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, the “vetting” would not be an issue. Driscoll did not respond to those comments. In total, the conversation between Patel and Driscoll lasted less than five minutes,” the lawsuit said. Driscoll was indeed asked whom he voted for during the vetting process and he did not reply to the question. Driscoll, Jensen and Evans were each fired in one-page emails from Patel sent to subordinates who were told to deliver the termination letters to their bosses, according to the lawsuit.The lawsuit said both Patel and his deputy Dan Bongino are very much conscious about social media and what influential MAGA voices are saying. And all three were fired after brief social media storm stoked by MAGA, the lawsuit said.
