19 Attorneys General Demand Senate Seek Answers from FBI Director Nominee Kash Patel on Alleged “FBI Purge”

Coalition cites troubling reports of politically motivated firings and investigations tied to Jan. 6 cases.

NEW JERSEY – New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and a coalition of 19 attorneys general sent a letter today to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, urging him to recall Kash Patel—President Trump’s nominee for FBI Director—for further questioning before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The attorneys general cite disturbing news reports that high-ranking FBI officials have been fired or pressured to resign and that the bureau is compiling a list of employees who investigated or prosecuted those involved in the January 6th Capitol riots.

“Kash Patel has a long history of defending the January 6th insurrectionists who attacked our Capitol and violently assaulted law enforcement officers,” said Attorney General Platkin. “Now, as the Trump Administration tries to install him as FBI Director, they are already purging FBI officials as retribution for rightfully investigating the criminals who tried to interfere in the peaceful transfer of power between administrations. The FBI is a critical partner in my office’s work to stop illegal guns, fight drug trafficking, and much more. New Jerseyans deserve answers from Mr. Patel as to whether he will cripple this agency and undercut our residents’ safety.”

According to the coalition, Patel should explain what he “plans to do with the list of FBI agents and staff that is currently being compiled,” referencing allegations that acting deputy attorney general Emil Bove directed FBI staff to produce a registry of everyone “assigned at any time to investigations and/or prosecutions” related to the January 6 riots. 

“Purging over 6,000 FBI agents and staff out of 38,000 will have disastrous effects on public safety across the country and will make our communities more dangerous. FBI employees and staff protect America from the public safety harms that President Trump listed in his executive orders—fentanyl, the Mexican Cartels, foreign terrorist organizations, and harms to American’s pocketbooks.”

The attorneys general call this a potential “purge of FBI employees” and claim it raises critical concerns about political retaliation within the agency. They also point to broader “attacks on law enforcement” by the Trump administration, including firing U.S. Attorneys, issuing pardons for Capitol rioters, and reportedly dismissing cases against them—actions the attorneys general argue undermine public safety and the rule of law.

While emphasizing that the Senate must fully vet Patel’s role in and knowledge of these alleged retaliatory firings, the letter urges Congress to question the administration’s broader policy shifts, including any efforts to excuse or drop charges against those who committed violence on January 6. Attorney General Platkin and his fellow state attorneys general maintain that “the United States Senate should know what Mr. Patel plans to do with the list of FBI agents and staff” before holding a confirmation vote. The letter is joined by attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.