Democrat calls firing of FBI officials ‘deeply alarming’ as some federal websites appear to go dark – live

Top Democrat calls firing of FBI officials ‘deeply alarming’
Senator Mark Warner, who is the vice-chair of the Senate intel committee, called the Trump administration’s decision to fire top FBI officials “deeply alarming”.
“At a time when we are facing a multitude of threats to the homeland – from terrorism and espionage to drug trafficking and Salt Typhoon – it is deeply alarming that the Trump administration appears to be purging dozens of the most experienced agents who are our nation’s first line of defense,” Warren said in a statement.
At least six senior FBI officials were told to to retire, resign or be fired by Monday. Agents who worked on the investigation of the 6 January Capitol riot could also be fired as soon as today, CBS reported citing sources.
Key events
Central California communities prepare for potential flooding after Trump order to “maximize” water supplies
Gabrielle Canon
Communities in Central California rushed to prepare for potential flooding on Friday, due to the layers of chaos Trump has inflicted on the state’s water distributions.
Responding to an order from Trump to “maximize,” water supplies, the Army Corps of Engineers abruptly began releasing flows out of Sierra Nevada reservoirs at levels local officials said would inundate areas downriver, Politico reported. Local water managers were given just an hour to alert nearby farms and neighborhoods.
“I’ve been here 25 years, and I’ve never been given notice that quick,” Victor Hernandez, who oversees water management on one of the rivers, told Politico, adding that it was “. “alarming and scary”.
The issue is the latest example of how Trump’s inflammatory remarks — which incorrectly tied the devastating Los Angeles wildfires to California’s water policy — has created more headaches in the state.
Hernandez and other local officials were reportedly able to convince the Corps to slow their releases to a third of what was planned, preventing what could have been an incredibly dangerous situation, but there are still concerns that the releases will do more harm than good.
The water won’t be diverted to Los Angeles to support wildfire efforts, especially because the flames are already largely extinguished. Meanwhile, releases will mean there’s less water available for irrigating during drier times.
Trump didn’t seem to get the message. Posting on X on Friday, he said “Everybody should be happy about this long fought Victory![sic]” sharing a photo of rushing water that he claimed he “just opened in California. He added a bit more misinformation for good measure: “I only wish they listened to me six years ago – There would have been no fire!”
FBI directed to hand over names of current and former staff who worked on 6 January cases
The FBI has been directed by the DOJ to compile and hand over a list of current and former employees who worked on cases related to the 6 January riots, several publications are reporting. The DOJ said it needs to receive the list by noon ET on Tuesday and then will commence a review to determine whether they need to make any other personnel moves.
CBS News plans to hand over unedited Kamala Harris interview to FCC
CBS News is expected to comply with the Federal Communications Commission’s request for the unedited transcript from the 60 minutes interview with Kamala Harris, the former vice-president, according to several reports. The interview took place in October of 2024 and was the subject of Trump’s $10bn lawsuit against CBS that accused the network of editing the interview in a way that benefitted Harris’s campaign.
“We are working to comply with that inquiry as we are legally compelled to do,” a CBS News spokesperson told the New York Times on Friday.
Anna Gomez, a Democratic FCC commissioner, said this was a “retaliatory move” that was part of a “concerning pattern of implementing the will of the Administration”.
“This latest action to weaponize our broadcast licensing authority is no different,” Gomez wrote. “It revives a complaint that had been previously dismissed by FCC experts due to lack of evidence and because it fell far short of the high standard needed for agency action. Let’s be clear. This is a retaliatory move by the government against broadcasters whose content or coverage is perceived to be unfavorable. It is designed to instill fear in broadcast stations and influence a network’s editorial decisions.”
The Illinois governor JB Pritzker has directed the state’s hiring authority, the department of central management services, to reject any 6 January rioters who apply for state government jobs, NBC News first reported.
In a memo to the authority, Pritzker wrote that the state’s personnel code “requires the rejection of candidates for State employment who have engaged in infamous or disgraceful conduct” and that “any participation in the January 6 insurrection” should qualify as such conduct.
“These rioters were accused or convicted of a combination of felonies and misdemeanors, including but not limited to: violence against law enforcement officers, threats against Members of Congress, destruction of federal property, and many other crimes,” the memo reads. “These crimes attacks threatened public safety as Members of Congress, staff, and other workers who were forced to hide from the violence for hours. I am committed to building a State workforce that upholds our shared values and delivers results for the people of Illinois. Our State workforce must reflect the values of Illinois and demonstrate honesty, integrity, and loyalty to serving the taxpayers. No one who attempts to overthrow a government should serve in government.”
Ed Martin, interim US attorney, has fired more than two dozen federal prosecutors who worked on 6 January riot cases, the Washington Post reported, citing sources.
The prosecutors received an email notifying them they were being terminated at 5pm on Friday, according to the Post. The memo also directed them to retain all documents related to “personnel decisions regarding attorneys hired to support” 6 January casework.
The US will reportedly start moving migrants to Guantánamo Bay in 30 days
House border czar Tom Homan told the Washington Post that they will “hopefully” start moving migrants to Guantánamo in 30 days.
“Hopefully within 30 days we’ll start moving people there,” Homan said.
Trump initially said Guantánamo would hold 30,000 migrants but Homan said they would start with a small number at first.
Top Democrat calls firing of FBI officials ‘deeply alarming’
Senator Mark Warner, who is the vice-chair of the Senate intel committee, called the Trump administration’s decision to fire top FBI officials “deeply alarming”.
“At a time when we are facing a multitude of threats to the homeland – from terrorism and espionage to drug trafficking and Salt Typhoon – it is deeply alarming that the Trump administration appears to be purging dozens of the most experienced agents who are our nation’s first line of defense,” Warren said in a statement.
At least six senior FBI officials were told to to retire, resign or be fired by Monday. Agents who worked on the investigation of the 6 January Capitol riot could also be fired as soon as today, CBS reported citing sources.
The US Census Bureau website is also down as of 5.31pm ET.
Federal Aviation Administration website goes dark
As of 5.27pm ET, the FAA website was not accessible. The link, FAA.gov, directed to a blank page that said: “This site can’t be reached.” The site went dark after the Trump administration said they would put a pause on most government websites by 5pm today.
We haven’t seen any federal websites that have gone dark as of yet, though Reuters is reporting the US Census website is down for some. We are still able to access it for the moment.