A top Justice Department official accused the FBI's acting leaders of “insubordination” in a Wednesday memo in which he sought to soothe anxiety inside the bureau over the potential for a broad purge of agents involved in investigating the Jan.

The acting deputy attorney general accused FBI leadership of “insubordination” by refusing to identify a “core team” of bureau employees who worked on January 6 investigations, while trying to assure that rank-and-file agents who “simply followed orders” will not be fired unless they “acted with corrupt or partisan intent,

FBI agents who participated in investigations related to President Donald Trump have sued over Justice Department efforts to develop a list of employees involved in those inquiries that agents fear could be a precursor to discipline or termination.