The FBI headquarters in D.C. 

The FBI headquarters in D.C.  Credit: For The Washington Post/Michael A. McCoy

FBI officials sent out a questionnaire over the weekend to determine the involvement of thousands of FBI personnel in cases related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to multiple people who reviewed the document and spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it.

The online questionnaire landed in inboxes a day after the FBI’s acting director said the bureau would conduct a sweeping examination, at the request of the Justice Department, of anyone who touched the sprawling Jan. 6. investigation.

It is the latest sign that the Trump administration aims to deliver on its promises to make dramatic changes in the law enforcement agency and root out people who Trump or his allies claim acted inappropriately. On Friday, acting deputy attorney general Emil Bove asked for a list by Tuesday of all current and former FBI personnel assigned to investigations and prosecutions related to the Capitol attack and a separate terrorism case.

The questionnaire appears to be the FBI’s attempt to compile that information. It was sent to managers in FBI offices and divisions across the country who may have overseen agents or other staffers who worked on a Jan. 6 investigation, according to the people familiar with the matter. The managers were instructed to send the questionnaire to any relevant employees - and those employees are asked to complete the questionnaire by 3 p.m. Monday.

Questions include the employees’ current title and their title when they worked on a Jan. 6 case. They are also asked if they were involved in the arrest of a Jan. 6 suspect, if they testified at a trial, if they interviewed witnesses, if they conducted surveillance on suspects and more.

It’s unclear how top FBI officials will use the results of the questionnaire. But many FBI personnel involved in the Jan. 6 investigations and the criminal probes related to Donald Trump were informed by supervisors last week that they could be terminated imminently, according to people familiar with the personnel conversations, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

The online questionnaire focuses on the Capitol attack, rather than the two special counsel investigations of Trump - one of which involved his alleged misuse of classified documents, and the other of which involved his alleged efforts to block the results of the 2020 election.

The investigation of the attack has been the biggest in Justice Department history, involving what could add up to thousands of FBI agents and scores of prosecutors. More than 1,580 defendants were charged and more than 1,270 convicted, on charges ranging from misdemeanor parading to seditious conspiracy.

Soon after Trump was inaugurated, he issued a blanket pardon to virtually all of those defendants and commuted the sentences of the 14 he did not immediately pardon. On Friday, interim D.C. U.S. attorney Edward R. Martin Jr. dismissed about 30 federal prosecutors who have worked on the Capitol riot cases over the past four years.

Since Trump took office, multiple top career officials in the Justice Department and FBI have been fired or transferred to less desirable postings. People familiar with the department said they expected Trump to transform the law enforcement agency once he took office, but they said the changes are far more drastic and happening faster than they anticipated.

Many FBI agents and employees who worked on Jan. 6 cases or the Trump investigations also had full caseloads unrelated to those matters - focused on violent crime, drug trafficking, counterterrorism and national security, among other topics.

People familiar with the recent personnel changes and examinations said removing the nation’s most experienced law enforcement officials and agents could result in massive staffing shortages, interrupt ongoing criminal cases and investigations and create public safety dangers across the country.

Mark Zaid, a lawyer who specializes in federal employment law, said he and other attorneys have been contacted by numerous Justice Department and FBI personnel who believe that they’ll be fired in coming days. Zaid said such firings would violate protections for the career employees and deny them due process.

“We’re planning on taking any and all legal steps and remedies to support and protect them,” Zaid said

At a confirmation hearing last week for Kash Patel – Trump’s pick for FBI director - Patel told senators his chief priorities would be rooting out threats to public safety and expanding partnerships with state and local law enforcement partners.

Patel, who was a vocal critic of the FBI and the Trump and Jan. 6 investigations before his nomination, testified that he had no knowledge of any planned purges of agents. He vowed to follow standard bureau procedures before disciplining or dismissing any personnel.

When questioned, Patel also said he would not to take action against FBI employees simply for the cases to which they’d been assigned.

“All FBI employees will be protected against political retribution,” Patel said.

Will Grayson Meak faceoff against Devin Downes in counties? Meanwhile North Babylon’s Jasmine McKay hoops it up and there's history on the mat in Nassau County in Episode 2 of "Sarra Sounds Off."  Credit: Mario Gonzalez

SARRA SOUNDS OFF: Wrestling, North Babylon hoops and more! Will Grayson Meak faceoff against Devin Downes in counties? Meanwhile North Babylon's Jasmine McKay hoops it up and there's history on the mat in Nassau County in Episode 2 of "Sarra Sounds Off." 

Will Grayson Meak faceoff against Devin Downes in counties? Meanwhile North Babylon’s Jasmine McKay hoops it up and there's history on the mat in Nassau County in Episode 2 of "Sarra Sounds Off."  Credit: Mario Gonzalez

SARRA SOUNDS OFF: Wrestling, North Babylon hoops and more! Will Grayson Meak faceoff against Devin Downes in counties? Meanwhile North Babylon's Jasmine McKay hoops it up and there's history on the mat in Nassau County in Episode 2 of "Sarra Sounds Off." 

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