FIRST ON FOX: The head of the FBI Agents Association (FBIAA) is cautiously optimistic that newly minted U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi will stabilize the Department of Justice (DOJ) after turbulent weeks since President Donald Trump took office.
FBIAA president and CEO Nicole Campa told Fox News Digital in an interview this week that she is eager to see if Bondi will fulfill her promise to end political weaponization at the FBI and the Justice Department.
This new leadership has the potential to ease the pressure felt by agents recently due to firings and forced departures, as well as a questionnaire asking agents to detail their roles in the Jan. 6 investigation.
Campa highlighted Bondi’s commitment not to target Trump opponents or create “enemies lists,” promises Bondi reiterated during her confirmation hearing last month.
Pam Bondi, President Donald Trump’s attorney general nominee, listens during her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Jan 15, 2025. (Jabin Botsford/Washington Post/ Getty)
“I’m optimistic about her statements moving forward, in that she has stated that people would not be targeted for simply doing their job,” Campa said. “So I think we are optimistic in moving forward.”
Even so, she added, “there are still real concerns about compiling lists when looking at this stuff and being able to potentially release agents’ names.”
FBIAA, a voluntary professional association, represents more than 14,000 active and retired FBI special agents. The agency joined nine anonymous FBI employees earlier this week in suing the Justice Department to block access to records of agents involved in the Jan. 6 investigation, citing fears of internal punishment or retaliation, as well as threats to the agents or the agents’ families should their names be made public.
The judge in the case, U.S. Judge Jia Cobb, is expected to rule on their request for emergency injunctive relief early Friday afternoon.
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The interview comes as rank-and-file DOJ and FBI employees have been unsettled by recent firings at DOJ and forced resignations or retirements of FBI personnel, along with a detailed questionnaire sent to thousands of FBI agents asking them to explain their involvement in the Jan. 6 investigations.
Justice Department acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove attempted to address FBI agents’ concerns by emphasizing in a recent email that the effort was to review the role agents played in the Jan. 6 investigation and not a signal of mass employee expulsion.
The lawsuit filed this week emphasized the importance of keeping agents’ identities private and ensuring they were not retaliated against for doing their jobs.
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Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, a former Trump attorney, directed the FBI acting director to fire seven specific employees by Monday. (Angela Weiss – Pool/Getty Images)
Campa reiterated concerns to Fox News about FBI employees and the agent association not having much clarity on the utilization of the list requested by the DOJ, raising concerns within the bureau due to recent terminations and ultimatums presented to leadership.
Former department officials also expressed fears that a mass purge of employees could jeopardize decades of agency expertise, impacting various critical areas of FBI operations.
“It takes a really long time to get an agent hired and through the process,” Campa explained. “So when we lose FBI agents, whether through retirement or other means, it will take years, if not decades, to replace that experience.”
“That’s concerning because we need experienced people to get the work done,” she added.
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Campa emphasized the importance of keeping FBI agents’ identities confidential and expressed hope that permanent leadership at DOJ and FBI will resolve the controversy surrounding the Jan. 6 investigations.
“We welcome a review of the work, but we are concerned that it will be done in a thorough and fair manner,” she said.
