A judge will consider blocking the FBI from assembling a list of agents involved in cases related to the Jan. 6 attack for potential disciplinary action or firings.

A top Justice Department official on Wednesday told FBI agents they would not be fired if they worked on January 6 investigations because they were ordered to do so and accused FBI leaders of insubordination for initially opposing demands for agents' names.

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,

The lawsuit accused the DOJ of carrying out an "unlawful and retaliatory" purge of FBI agents who worked on the January 6 probe.

A U.S. judge on Thursday ordered a brief pause on any public release of the identifies of FBI employees who worked on probes into the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Donald Trump supporters following a legal challenge by a group of FBI agents.

Acting U.S. Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove made the statements on Wednesday in a memo to staff seen by Reuters.