James Dennehy’s retirement came days after FBI chief Kash Patel was urged to probe allegations that the New York office withheld some Epstein-related documents.
James Dennehy, the head of the FBI’s New York Field Office, reportedly emailed staff members on Monday to announce that he has been asked to turn in his retirement papers.
“I was informed that I needed to put my retirement papers in today, which I just did,” Dennehy stated in the email, which was obtained by multiple news outlets. “I was not given a reason for this decision.”
After writing a top 10 list of things he said he would miss about the FBI, he wrote: “I will never stop defending this joint. I’ll just do it willingly and proudly from outside the wire.”
Dennehy served in the U.S. Marine Corps for seven years before joining the FBI as a special agent in 2002. In September last year, then-FBI director Christopher Wray named him assistant director in the New York field office.
Senate Judiciary Democrats have criticized Dennehy’s forced retirement and accused the Trump administration of weaponizing the bureau.
“After defending his workforce from Trump’s political revenge tour, James Dennehy was given a choice: resign or be fired. FBI weaponization,” they stated on the social media platform X.
After defending his workforce from Trump’s political revenge tour, James Dennehy was given a choice: resign or be fired.
— Senate Judiciary Democrats 🇺🇸 (🦋 now on bsky) (@JudiciaryDems) March 4, 2025
FBI WEAPONIZATION. pic.twitter.com/lMiy37qwF4
The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) directive to the FBI last month urging the bureau to provide the names of all personnel involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach investigation—which Dennehy reportedly resisted.
The Epoch Times has reached out to the FBI for comment and did not receive a response by publication time.
Dennehy’s retirement email also came just days after U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi urged new FBI director Kash Patel to launch an investigation into allegations that the FBI field office in New York was withholding documents related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Patel later issued a statement on the social media platform X, vowing that under his leadership, “there will be no cover-ups, no missing documents, and no stone left unturned — and anyone from the prior or current Bureau who undermines this will be swiftly pursued.”
The FBI is entering a new era—one that will be defined by integrity, accountability, and the unwavering pursuit of justice. There will be no cover-ups, no missing documents, and no stone left unturned — and anyone from the prior or current Bureau who undermines this will be…
— Kash Patel (@Kash_Patel) February 27, 2025
Patel has said during his Senate confirmation hearing that he would not act against FBI employees solely because of their work on probes into President Donald Trump. The new FBI director had also vowed to restore the bureau’s credibility and make it an agency that the American people can trust.
The Associated Press and Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.
