Press Release
February 4, 2025
WASHINGTON – Today, State Democracy Defenders Fund (SDDF) and a group of legal advocates dedicated to maintaining the rule of law filed for an emergency order to block the public release of the names of any Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) employees who are poised to be fired. Credible reports indicate the FBI has been directed to systematically terminate all Bureau employees who had any involvement in investigations related to President Trump, and that Trump’s allies in the DOJ are planning to publicly disseminate the names of those employees they plan to terminate.
If granted, the federal court’s emergency order would block the U.S. government, to include President Trump, from releasing the names of fired Bureau employees, which would expose them and their families to grave security risks and potential physical harm.
“The individuals being targeted have served in law enforcement for decades, often putting their lives on the line for the citizens of this country,” said Ambassador Norm Eisen, executive chair of SDDF, a nonpartisan democracy watchdog group. “Their rights and privacy must be preserved.”
Sunday, the group sent a letter to Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove warning him not to take actions that would deprive these employees of their due process rights.
“These employees, who have served in the FBI honorably as public servants to enforce the rule of law, must be protected from harm ,” said Mark Zaid. “The notion that the U.S. government is actually poised to knowingly place its own employees at risk of harm is beyond comprehension..”
The filing, on behalf of former and current DOJ and FBI employees, was prepared by Norm Eisen of State Democracy Defenders Fund, Margaret M. Donovan, Christopher Mattei, and Mark S. Zaid.
The filing is available HERE.
State Democracy Defenders Fund is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to stopping democratic backsliding and restoring American democracy.