FBI fires a dozen after Biden-era subpoenas of Patel, Wiles come to light

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At least a dozen FBI employees were fired amid revelations the bureau under theBiden administrationallegedly subpoenaed Kash Patel and Susie Wiles’ phone records in 2022 and 2023 as part of a federal probe into then-former President Donald Trump.

More than 10 FBI employees were fired Wednesday, and at least two more

A split image of Kash Patel and Susie Wiles

Kash Patel and Susie Wiles(Getty Images)

“The FBIAA condemns today’s unlawful termination of FBI special agents, which — like other firings by Director Patel — violates the due process rights of those who risk their lives to protect our country,” the organization said in a statement.

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“These actions weaken the bureau by stripping away critical expertise and destabilizing the workforce, undermining trust in leadership and jeopardizing the Bureau’s ability to meet its recruitment goals, ultimately putting the nation at greater risk.”

Reuters first disclosed the subpoenas, which were issued during the Biden administrationwhile special counsel Jack Smith was investigating Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, Florida.

Smith ended up charging Trump in 2023 with multiple felony offenses related to alleged efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 election and Trump’s handling of the documents after he left office.

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A federal judge later dismissed the election interference case after Smith moved to drop it following Trump’s re-election, citing a Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president.

Former special counsel Jack Smith says the Pledge of Allegiance before he prepares to testify during a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill Jan.22, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Al Drago/Getty Images)

Smith also dropped the Justice Department’s appeal of a separate ruling that dismissed the classified documents case.Trump has denied any wrongdoing in both matters.

com/category/person/kash-patel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Patel called the move to seize the phone records “outrageous and deeply alarming.”

“It is outrageous and deeply alarming that the previous FBI leadership secretly subpoenaed my own phone records — along with those of now White House chief of staff Susie Wiles — using flimsy pretexts and burying the entire process in prohibited case files designed to evade all oversight,” he said.

The FBI said it discovered the information in the bureau’s newly discovered “prohibited case file.”

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Patel also said he recently ended the FBI’s ability to categorize files as “prohibited.”

According to those officials, Wiles’ attorney was aware the call was being recorded and consented, but Wiles was not informed.

Wiles’ 2023 attorney disputes those claims.

“If I ever pulled a stunt like that I wouldn’t — and shouldn’t — have a license to practice law,” the unidentified attorney said, according to Axios.“I’m as shocked as Susie.”

Smith testified in 2025 that records of members’ calls helped investigators verify the timeline of events surrounding the Jan.6 Capitol riot.

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He said prosecutors “followed all legal requirements in getting those records” and told a House panel the records obtained from lawmakers did not include the content of conversations.

� Emma Bussey and Emma Colton contributed to this report.