WASHINGTON — The head of the FBI’s New York Field Office was forced out of the bureau on Monday, a month after he urged his employees to “dig in” after the Trump administration removed senior FBI leaders and requested the names of all agents who worked on Jan. 6 cases, five sources familiar with the matter told NBC News.
In an email to FBI staff in New York on Monday, Dennehy said that he had been forced to retire.
“Late Friday, I was informed that I needed to put my retirement papers in today, which I just did,” Dennehy wrote. “I was not given a reason for this decision.”
Two of the sources said James Dennehy, a highly respected FBI leader and former Marine, was given a choice to resign or be fired.
Last month, Dennehy wrote an email to his staff after the Trump Justice Department, led by Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, demanded a list of all bureau employees who had worked on criminal cases against the hundreds of Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol.
“Today, we find ourselves in the middle of a battle of our own as good people are being walked out of the FBI,” Dennehy wrote. “And others are being targeted because they did their jobs in accordance with the law and FBI policy.”
“Time for me to dig in,” Dennehy said.
Dennehy was referring to the ouster of eight veteran FBI leaders a day after then-incoming FBI director Kash Patel testified under oath that “All FBI employees will be protected against political retribution.”
Instead, the head of the Washington field office, who played a role in the criminal investigations of Trump, was ousted along with other senior officials. Bove also requested the names of all agents who had worked on Jan. 6 cases.
It is widely believed inside the FBI that the resistance by Dennehy, along with the acting director Brian Driscoll and acting deputy director Rob Kissane — prevented a mass firing of thousands of FBI officials who worked on the January 6th cases. Dennehy’s removal is likely to reignite fears of mass firings.
