Christie: Trump FBI purge 'incredibly dangerous' to national security
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) said Sunday that President Trump’s purge of the FBI is “incredibly dangerous” to national security.
In an interview on ABC News’s “This Week,” Christie described the lengthy process of onboarding FBI agents and said the country cannot afford to lose good agents.
“Understand how long it takes to get a new FBI agent on board. If you fire hundreds — if not thousands, and it would be thousands on this list of FBI agents — it takes 12-18 months to get them on board. By the time you go through the interviewing process, the vetting process, then they go to Quantico for their training, and then become onboarded as a brand new FBI agent,” Christie said.
“In the threat assessment we have right now across the world, to lose that many agents, and then take a year to a year-and-a-half to try to replace them, is incredibly dangerous for our national security,” Christie continued. “And for what? Because they did their jobs.”
The Trump administration forced out a number of FBI officials Friday, removing agents who worked on Trump’s criminal cases as well as the heads of various field offices.
A source familiar told The Hill that agents who had worked on the Mar-a-Lago and Jan. 6 investigations were escorted out of the Washington Field Office and that officials in charge of the Washington, D.C., Miami, Seattle, New Orleans and Las Vegas field offices were removed.
The Hill reported earlier Friday that the five executive assistant directors of the bureau were notified they would be demoted. That move targeted the band of top officials who oversee the FBI’s five internal branches and are among the highest-ranking career positions in the bureau.
The removals follow a similar purge at the Justice Department, where prosecutors who worked on Trump’s two federal criminal investigations were also fired.
The attorneys were told specifically that they were removed due to their work on the cases, blaming the Biden administration for a “systemic campaign against its perceived political opponents.”
Christie, a former prosecutor, said he’s hearing from sources around the FBI that “they are stunned by what’s happening.”
Christie noted that the FBI agents who worked on Trump’s criminal cases are civil servants, not political appointees.
“None of these agents who worked on the Jan. 6 cases volunteered. That's not the way it works,” Christie said. “In fact, at the FBI, they do the opposite. They don't want you volunteering and self-selecting for an investigation, because that may mean you bring some bias to it. You go and you select these people.”
“So they were instructed by their bosses to work on the Jan. 6 cases, and what happened as a result of that? Hundreds of convictions in front of juries, in front of judges that were appointed by both Republican and Democratic administrations,” Christe said.
“And so if the president wants to pardon those people, that's his right to do, but it's not then his right to fire these folks,” Christie added.
Christie, a former Trump ally, has become one of the president’s most vocal GOP critics in recent years, especially during the 2024 presidential election season, when they both sought the GOP nomination.
Topics
-
FBI in ‘battle’ with Trump amid purge of officials, top agent warns staff
James E Dennehy vows to ‘dig in’ as president targets bureau officials over January 6 investigations. US politics live – latest updates The assistant director at the FBI ’s New York field ...The Guardian - 3h -
What do we know about the expected FBI purges?
Sources say that FBI agents who worked on the Jan. 6 investigations, President Trump's classified documents handling and his conduct after the 2020 election could be fired as soon as Friday. CBS ...CBS News - 2d -
FBI purges top officials, agents who worked on Trump's criminal cases
The Trump administration forced out a number of FBI officials Friday, removing agents who worked on the criminal cases into President Trump as well as the heads of various field offices. A source ...The Hill - 2d -
Several top FBI officials are told to resign or be fired as Trump continues federal purge
WASHINGTON — Several top FBI executives promoted by former Director Christopher Wray were told Thursday to resign or retire or they would be fired, according to multiple current and former bureau ...NBC News - 3d -
Trump's key national security nominees grilled at confirmation hearings
Kash Patel, President Trump's nominee for FBI director, and Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's nominee for director of national intelligence, faced intense questioning at their Senate confirmation hearings. ...NBC News - 3d -
Schumer blasts Trump over 'chilling purge' of IGs
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) condemned President Trump’s move to fire more than a dozen watchdogs at several federal agencies overnight, calling it a "chilling purge." “This is a ...The Hill - Jan. 25 -
Trump White House begins remaking national security staff
White House national security adviser Mike Waltz has ordered a “full review” of personnel at the National Security Council (NSC), starting a process to weed out detailees at the agency who are not ...The Hill - Jan. 22 -
Waltz resigns from House to take on Trump national security role
Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) resigned from the House on Monday morning, as he prepares to join President-elect Trump's Cabinet as national security adviser. Waltz's resignation was read on the House ...The Hill - Jan. 20 -
FBI Director Christopher Wray on inauguration security
Director Wray discussed security ahead of President-elect Trump's inauguration on January 20th with 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley.CBS News - Jan. 12
More from The Hill
-
Warren presses Treasury secretary over Musk access to payments system
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Monday demanding to know what access Elon Musk was given to the federal payments system and what safeguards were ...The Hill - 39m -
Hegseth, Homan visit Texas to meet troops on border
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth touched down in Texas on Monday morning en route to the U.S. border with Mexico, his first trip since taking office. Hegseth, who traveled with White House border ...The Hill - 47m -
Trump is back and dividing us again with crash-related attacks on DEI
President Donald Trump's comments on the midair collision of an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C. were racist and sexist and have been met with widespread ...The Hill - 53m -
Former Biden spokesperson: Trump doesn't want Democrats to talk about promise to lower prices
Former White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said Monday that President Trump does not want Democrats to remind voters of his campaign promise to lower prices. “[T]he last thing President Trump ...The Hill - 1h -
Kinzinger to House Dems: 'Get out there and do something' about Musk
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) on Monday told House Democrats to “get out there and do something” about tech billionaire Elon Musk after employees at the U.S. Agency for International ...The Hill - 1h
More in Politics
-
Warren presses Treasury secretary over Musk access to payments system
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Monday demanding to know what access Elon Musk was given to the federal payments system and what safeguards were ...The Hill - 39m -
Hegseth, Homan visit Texas to meet troops on border
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth touched down in Texas on Monday morning en route to the U.S. border with Mexico, his first trip since taking office. Hegseth, who traveled with White House border ...The Hill - 47m -
Trump is back and dividing us again with crash-related attacks on DEI
President Donald Trump's comments on the midair collision of an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C. were racist and sexist and have been met with widespread ...The Hill - 53m -
Former Biden spokesperson: Trump doesn't want Democrats to talk about promise to lower prices
Former White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said Monday that President Trump does not want Democrats to remind voters of his campaign promise to lower prices. “[T]he last thing President Trump ...The Hill - 1h -
Kinzinger to House Dems: 'Get out there and do something' about Musk
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) on Monday told House Democrats to “get out there and do something” about tech billionaire Elon Musk after employees at the U.S. Agency for International ...The Hill - 1h