Investigate the Firing of FBI Iran Threat Experts Before U.S. Strikes
The Issue
Just days before the United States launched military strikes against Iran, FBI Director Kash Patel reportedly fired a dozen agents and staff from the bureau’s counterintelligence unit responsible for tracking Iranian threats.
This unit — known as CI-12 — has played a critical role in monitoring foreign intelligence activity, identifying assassination plots, and preventing retaliation against Americans on U.S. soil. At a moment of heightened tensions abroad, when the risk of foreign retaliation is a serious concern, weakening the very team tasked with detecting those threats raises urgent and bipartisan questions.
Americans of all political beliefs agree on one thing: our national security infrastructure must be strong, prepared, and insulated from political turmoil.
Counterintelligence work is not partisan. It is about protecting American lives.
According to reporting, those dismissed were involved in past investigations connected to President Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents. If true, that makes these firings even more concerning. National security decisions — especially during an international conflict — should never appear retaliatory or politically motivated.
The American people deserve transparency. They deserve confidence that our federal law enforcement agencies are fully staffed, properly equipped, and able to respond swiftly to threats from foreign adversaries, including Iran.
We call on the U.S. House and Senate Intelligence Committees and the House and Senate Judiciary Committees to immediately hold oversight hearings into these personnel decisions. We urge Attorney General Pam Bondi to publicly clarify the current staffing levels and readiness of the FBI’s counterintelligence teams.
At a time when global instability is rising, we cannot afford uncertainty inside our own security institutions. Protecting the United States from foreign threats should rise above politics.
National security is not red or blue. It is American.
Congress must act now to ensure the FBI’s counterintelligence capabilities remain strong, independent, and fully prepared to defend the country.
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The Issue
Just days before the United States launched military strikes against Iran, FBI Director Kash Patel reportedly fired a dozen agents and staff from the bureau’s counterintelligence unit responsible for tracking Iranian threats.
This unit — known as CI-12 — has played a critical role in monitoring foreign intelligence activity, identifying assassination plots, and preventing retaliation against Americans on U.S. soil. At a moment of heightened tensions abroad, when the risk of foreign retaliation is a serious concern, weakening the very team tasked with detecting those threats raises urgent and bipartisan questions.
Americans of all political beliefs agree on one thing: our national security infrastructure must be strong, prepared, and insulated from political turmoil.
Counterintelligence work is not partisan. It is about protecting American lives.
According to reporting, those dismissed were involved in past investigations connected to President Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents. If true, that makes these firings even more concerning. National security decisions — especially during an international conflict — should never appear retaliatory or politically motivated.
The American people deserve transparency. They deserve confidence that our federal law enforcement agencies are fully staffed, properly equipped, and able to respond swiftly to threats from foreign adversaries, including Iran.
We call on the U.S. House and Senate Intelligence Committees and the House and Senate Judiciary Committees to immediately hold oversight hearings into these personnel decisions. We urge Attorney General Pam Bondi to publicly clarify the current staffing levels and readiness of the FBI’s counterintelligence teams.
At a time when global instability is rising, we cannot afford uncertainty inside our own security institutions. Protecting the United States from foreign threats should rise above politics.
National security is not red or blue. It is American.
Congress must act now to ensure the FBI’s counterintelligence capabilities remain strong, independent, and fully prepared to defend the country.
The Decision Makers
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Petition created on March 3, 2026