DOJ Inspector General Declines to Investigate Politically-Motivated FBI Firings, Urges FBI to Investigate Itself

WASHINGTON (March 23, 2026)—WhistleblowerAid.org Founding Legal Partner Mark Zaid and WhistleblowerAid.org Chief Legal Counsel Andrew P. Bakaj released a statement on the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Inspector General declining to investigate our clients’ disclosures: “Several FBI employees have filed lawfully protected disclosures to the Department of Justice’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) to complain about violations of law being committed by senior FBI leadership to summarily fire their colleagues for political reasons. The OIG declined to investigate the allegations, even though the complaint emphasized additional information—including classified—was available, because of their ‘limited resources.’ Instead, in a fox guarding the henhouse approach, they recommended the FBI investigate itself. Whistlebloweraid.org represents these brave FBI employees. “Since the second Trump Administration took office and immediately started firing nearly two dozen Inspectors General, as well as overseeing the installation of loyalists, the OIG system—and the overall accountability system—has been weaponized against those who need it most. It is incumbent upon Congress, regardless of political ideology, to ensure the integrity of the OIG system that it created remains vibrant and non-partisan. Lawful whistleblowers deserve nothing less.” ###