Margaret Donovan
Role at the time: Attorney for the plaintiffs, in a statement issued with co-counsel Abbe Lowell and Rebecca Tinio
Response to this claim
Nine FBI special agents, staff operations specialists and intelligence analysts were fired in February 2026 because they worked on the investigation of Donald Trump's retention of classified documents, without cause, notice or a hearing, in violation of the First and Fifth Amendments.
“In return for their service, they were fired because they did their jobs, as they always did to follow the facts and law without bias or favor. To this administration, this is an offense. To the rest of us, it is heroic”
Associated Press report on the lawsuit, republished by the Anchorage Daily News, including a statement from the plaintiffs' attorneys.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Why we used this label
The reference point is the FBI's February 2026 firing of employees who worked on the investigation of Donald Trump's retention of classified documents. The attorneys say the employees were fired because they did their jobs and call the lawsuit a response to a blatant attack on the rule of law, which condemns the firings.