Trump FBI Director Fires Combat Vet Whose Wife Died Last Month, Accusing Him of ‘Poor Judgment’

AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

FBI Director Kash Patel fired an agent with the bureau while accusing him of “poor judgment” and “political weaponization.”

In a letter dated Aug. 8, Patel sent Special Agent Walter Giardina a letter formally notifying the agent of termination. The letter was obtained by Ken Dilanian of MSNBC, who posted a screenshot of it on social media. Dilanian also noted that Giardina is a Marine combat veteran whose wife died of cancer last month at age 49.

Giardina worked on Robert Mueller’s investigation that examined potential links between President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia. That matter has been a sore spot for Trump, to say the least.

Patel’s letter reads:

Dear Mr. Giardina:

This document provides official notice that you are being summarily dismissed from your position at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. and removed from the federal service, under my authority as the FBI Director, effective immediately.

You have exercised poor judgment and a lack of impartiality in carrying out duties, leading to the political weaponization of the government.

Pursuant to Article II of the United States Constitution and the laws of the United States. your employment with the Federal Bureau of Investigation is hereby terminated.

If applicable. you may have a right to file an appeal of this removal with the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) within 30 days of the effective date of the removal action. For more information on how to file an appeal with the MSPB. please visit www.mspb.gov.

Giardina was part of the latest purge at the FBI. On Friday, former Acting Deputy Director Brian Driscoll left the bureau after being terminated. Driscoll had been directed to fire FBI agents involved in cases about the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, but he refused. Upon leaving an FBI facility in Virginia, more than 200 people gave him a hero’s sendoff by clapping him out of the building.

“People are pissed,” one source told Dilanian.