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• The departure of three high-ranking officials is being
interpreted as an internal "purge" and a message of tight control
over federal security agencies.
Washington, D.C. – In a move that has generated a strong
political and media impact, the administration of President Donald Trump has fired
three senior officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), all of
them linked in various ways to the investigation into the riots that occurred
at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
According to sources cited by The New York Times, the
decision is considered by several observers to be an unprecedented
"internal purge" in recent memory, marking a new stage in the
relationship between the White House and federal security agencies.
The dismissed officials are: Brian Driscoll, who briefly
served as acting director of the FBI at the beginning of Trump's second term;
Steven Jensen, assistant director in charge of the Washington Field Office; and
Walter Giardina, a seasoned special agent with more than two decades of service
with the agency.
Sources close to the Justice Department indicated that the
measure responds to the executive branch's intention to impose stricter
discipline, eliminating what the administration has described as
"insubordination, leaks, and cover-ups" within the FBI.
"This is a clear message: there will be no tolerance
for those who act outside the chain of command or for those who use their
positions for political purposes," said a senior White House official on
condition of anonymity.
The decision comes amid historic tensions between Trump and
the FBI leadership, stemming from previous investigations into his presidential
campaign and, later, the investigation into the attack on the Capitol. Since
returning to power, the president has insisted on "deeply reforming"
the federal security agencies that, according to him, "acted with
political bias" against him.
Security and constitutional law experts warn that the
dismissal of top FBI officials could reshape the agency's internal structure.
"These types of actions, although legal, are highly
sensitive because they touch on the heart of the FBI's institutional autonomy.
The balance between executive control and investigative autonomy is at
stake," explained legal analyst Karen Whitfield, a professor at Georgetown
University.
Meanwhile, FBI spokespersons declined to offer detailed
comment on the dismissals, only confirming that "personnel decisions
respond to administrative directives" and that agency operations continue
normally.