FBI New York chief James Dennehy retires after being ordered to step down

James Dennehy said in a message to colleagues that he was told late Friday to put in his retirement papers but was not given a reason

The head of the FBI's New York field office who was reported to have resisted Justice Department efforts to scrutinise agents who participated in politically sensitive investigations has told coworkers that he has retired from the bureau after being directed to do so.

James Dennehy said in a message on Monday to colleagues obtained by The Associated Press that he was told late Friday to put in his retirement papers but was not given a reason. The move comes in a period of upheaval at the bureau as new FBI Director Kash Patel took office last month and as conservative podcast host and Trump loyalist Dan Bongino has been named to serve as deputy director.

The bureau also remains in turmoil over a highly unusual demand by the Justice Department for the FBI to turn over a list of the thousands of agents who participated in investigations related to the Jan 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol. The January directive was seen by some in the bureau as a possible precursor to mass firings.

Dennehy, a retired Marine, was among those who resisted the order, vowing in a message he wrote to colleagues that he was prepared to dig in, according to news reports at the time.

I've been told many times in my life, 'When you find yourself in a hole, sometimes it's best to quit digging.' Screw that. I will never stop defending this joint. I'll just do it willingly and proudly from outside the wire, Dennehy wrote in the message Monday informing colleagues that he had been forced out as leader of one of the FBI's busiest and most prestigious offices, a job he'd held for several months.

In a top 10 list of things he said he would miss about the FBI, he said, The independence. We will not bend. We will not falter. We will not sacrifice what is right for anything or anyone.

The FBI declined to comment and a spokesperson for the Justice Department did not immediately return a message seeking comment. NBC News first reported Dennehy's ouster.

Dennehy was put in charge of the New York field office last September by then-FBI Director Christopher Wray.

He joined the FBI as a special agent working on counterintelligence in the New York field office in 2002.

He transferred to FBI headquarters in Washington in 2015 and was made a section chief a year later. His other assignments included a stint as a chief of staff in the national security branch, special agent in charge of the counterintelligence and cyber division of the New York field office and special agent in charge of the Newark, New Jersey, field office.