U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley said Wednesday he does not take issue with the Trump administration firings of high-level FBI and Department of Justice officials.
But low-level employees following orders should not be held responsible, the Iowa Republican said in a phone call with reporters.
Grassley, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said a memo to the workforce from high-level justice officials stated FBI agents “who simply followed orders and carried out their duties in an ethical manner” while investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol are not at risk of being fired.
“The purpose of the FBI is law enforcement and using people within the department for political purposes of weaponization of politics should not be a part of their operation,” Grassley told reporters Wednesday. “Now I blame this on the seventh floor of the FBI. It’s not something that the FBI agents at the grassroots of Iowa or any other state are responsible for.”
The Department of Justice has made moves to fire or reassign prosecutors involved in prosecuting those arrested after the Jan. 6 riot and President Donald Trump's classified records case. FBI agents over the weekend were asked to complete a survey regarding their involvement with the Jan. 6 cases, leading to concerns of consequences for rank-and-file, non-political agents.
Grassley and Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., wrote Trump last week expressing concern about the firings of inspectors general from 18 offices.
Grassley said Wednesday he has not yet heard back from the president.
Inspectors general are nonpartisan employees who do independent investigations, audits and inspections focused on preventing and addressing waste, fraud and abuse.
Grassley and Durbin, the majority and minority leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee, urged Trump to provide substantive rationale behind his decision to dismiss the inspectors general.
The senators also requested Trump share the names of officials who will serve in an acting capacity and to quickly nominate qualified and nonpartisan people to permanently fill the vacancies.
An amendment as part of the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act requires the president provide written, detailed communication informing Congress of the president’s decision to dismiss or transfer an inspector general at least 30 days before doing so.
The president’s reasoning “must include sufficient facts and details to assure Congress and the public that the termination is due to real concerns about the Inspector General's ability to carry out their mission,” the Grassley-Durbin letter stated.
“This is a matter of public and congressional accountability and ensuring the public’s confidence in the Inspector General community, a sentiment shared more broadly by other members of Congress,” the letter stated. “IGs are critical to rooting out waste, fraud, abuse and misconduct within the Executive Branch bureaucracy, which you have publicly made clear you are also intent on doing."
Grassley said he’s heard White House officials say the legislation he and Durbin cited is unconstitutional.
"There’s been other people in the White House that said that this and another piece of legislation, where there was some firing involved, was unconstitutional,“ Grassley said. ”Well, I think only the courts can say the law is unconstitutional. ...That’s the best I can say at this point.“
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But low-level employees following orders should not be held responsible, the Iowa Republican said in a phone call with reporters.
Grassley, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said a memo to the workforce from high-level justice officials stated FBI agents “who simply followed orders and carried out their duties in an ethical manner” while investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol are not at risk of being fired.
“The purpose of the FBI is law enforcement and using people within the department for political purposes of weaponization of politics should not be a part of their operation,” Grassley told reporters Wednesday. “Now I blame this on the seventh floor of the FBI. It’s not something that the FBI agents at the grassroots of Iowa or any other state are responsible for.”
The Department of Justice has made moves to fire or reassign prosecutors involved in prosecuting those arrested after the Jan. 6 riot and President Donald Trump's classified records case. FBI agents over the weekend were asked to complete a survey regarding their involvement with the Jan. 6 cases, leading to concerns of consequences for rank-and-file, non-political agents.
Inspector-general firings
Grassley and Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., wrote Trump last week expressing concern about the firings of inspectors general from 18 offices.
Grassley said Wednesday he has not yet heard back from the president.
Inspectors general are nonpartisan employees who do independent investigations, audits and inspections focused on preventing and addressing waste, fraud and abuse.
Grassley and Durbin, the majority and minority leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee, urged Trump to provide substantive rationale behind his decision to dismiss the inspectors general.
The senators also requested Trump share the names of officials who will serve in an acting capacity and to quickly nominate qualified and nonpartisan people to permanently fill the vacancies.
An amendment as part of the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act requires the president provide written, detailed communication informing Congress of the president’s decision to dismiss or transfer an inspector general at least 30 days before doing so.
The president’s reasoning “must include sufficient facts and details to assure Congress and the public that the termination is due to real concerns about the Inspector General's ability to carry out their mission,” the Grassley-Durbin letter stated.
“This is a matter of public and congressional accountability and ensuring the public’s confidence in the Inspector General community, a sentiment shared more broadly by other members of Congress,” the letter stated. “IGs are critical to rooting out waste, fraud, abuse and misconduct within the Executive Branch bureaucracy, which you have publicly made clear you are also intent on doing."
Grassley said he’s heard White House officials say the legislation he and Durbin cited is unconstitutional.
"There’s been other people in the White House that said that this and another piece of legislation, where there was some firing involved, was unconstitutional,“ Grassley said. ”Well, I think only the courts can say the law is unconstitutional. ...That’s the best I can say at this point.“
Sen. Chuck Grassley says high-level Justice, FBI firings justified
Lower-level FBI agents not at risk of losing their jobs, Iowa Republican says
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