FBI's NY chief, who pushed back on inquiry into January 6 probe, retires

This departure comes after weeks of turmoil at the FBI that saw nearly a dozen executives at headquarters removed unexpectedly, leaving a leadership vacuum and confusion.

New York: The top agent at the FBI’s New York field office said in an email Monday that he had been forced out of his job following clashes with Justice Department officials over Trump administration directives.

The veteran agent, James Dennehy, was told Friday to retire from his role leading the FBI’s largest field office, delivering another blow to the senior ranks of the bureau. Dennehy, who had been running the office since September, had angered Trump administration officials by supporting bureau leaders who resisted turning over the names of those who investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.

Dennehy had also angered Attorney General Pam Bondi by what she claimed was the New York office’s failure to turn over all investigative files related to Jeffrey Epstein, the financier charged with sex trafficking who killed himself in prison. Bondi provided no evidence to back up her assertion.

“Late Friday, I was informed that I needed to put my retirement papers in today, which I just did,” Dennehy wrote Monday in an email to colleagues. “I was not given a reason for this decision. Regardless, I apologise to all of you for not being able to fulfill my commitment to you.”

Dennehy’s departure comes after weeks of turmoil at the FBI that saw nearly a dozen executives at headquarters removed unexpectedly, leaving a leadership vacuum and confusion.

Dennehy, who served for seven years as a US Marine officer before joining the bureau in 2002, spent most of his career investigating or supervising counterintelligence cases, which, in essence, involved chasing spies rather than building criminal cases.

Before being named to head the agency’s flagship office in New York, he headed its office in Newark, New Jersey, for two years. But he spent the bulk of his career in New York and at headquarters in Washington, including leading New York’s counterintelligence and cyber division.

In January, the acting leaders of the FBI, Brian Driscoll and Robert Kissane, refused to provide a list of personnel involved in the Jan. 6 cases. Emil Bove, the acting No. 2 in the Justice Department, accused the men of being insubordinate. Ultimately, the FBI turned over the information.

In a defiant email at the time, Dennehy came to their defense and urged his staff to “dig in” after the Trump administration targeted officials involved in the investigations into the Jan. 6 attack.