The head of the FBI’s New York field office was forced to retire on Monday, after resisting the Department of Justice’s efforts to go after agents involved in the January 6 investigations, according to multiple reports.
It’s one of many recent shakeups and retaliatory purges within the bureau as the Trump administration continues its effort to erode the Justice Department’s independence from the White House and President Trump’s political retribution agenda.
In a letter to colleagues on Monday, James Dennehy wrote that he was informed on Friday that he “needed to put my retirement papers in” and that he was “not given a reason for this decision.”
“But as I leave today, I have an immense feeling of pride – to have represented an office of professionals who will always do the right thing for the right reasons; who will always seek the truth while upholding the rule of law; who will always follow the facts no matter where they lead and be unapologetic about it; who will never bend, break, falter, or quit on your integrity; who will always handle cases and evidence with an overabundance of caution and care for the innocent, the victims, and the process first; and who will always remain independent,” he wrote in his Monday email to colleagues announcing his forced retirement.
Although he was not given an official reason for his forced resignation, his ousting comes after he pushed back against an order from Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove last month to turn over a list of all of the agents involved in investigations related to the January 6 attack on the capitol.
In response to Bove’s directive, Dennehy wrote in an email to his colleagues last month that he was prepared to “dig in” to support them, according to CNN
“Today, we find ourselves in the middle of a battle of our own, as good people are being walked out of the FBI and others are being targeted because they did their jobs in accordance with the law and FBI policy.” he wrote. “Time for me to dig in.”
The New York Times reported that in addition to angering Trump officials by resisting Bove’s directive regarding the January 6 investigations, he also, even more recently, reportedly clashed with Attorney General Pam Bondi over what Bondi has baselessly described as a failure to “deliver the full and complete” investigative filing related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffery Epstein.
Without evidence, Bondi has claimed that an anonymous source within the agency told her that the New York FBI office still had thousands of files related to Epstein’s case, according to the Washington Post.
Dennehy’s ousting also comes against the backdrop of general upheaval within the FBI, as the Trump administration has purged staffers and as Trump has had success in installing his allies — who have publicly supported his retribution agenda — at top posts within the bureau.
Last month, Kash Patel was narrowly confirmed as FBI director despite lingering questions about whether or not he perjured himself during his confirmation hearing, amid reports that he allegedly personally orchestrated a purge within the FBI prior to his confirmation.
And last week, Trump announced the installment of MAGA conspiracy theorist and podcaster Dan Bongino as deputy FBI director. Bongino has been a vocal critic of the agency and has promoted debunked conspiracy theories that the bureau was somehow involved in planting pipebombs outside of the Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee ahead of the January 6 capitol riot.
