Washington DC - The FBI has fired at least half a dozen agents linked to the 2022 investigation into President Donald Trump's hoarding of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.

The FBI raided Trump's residence in Florida in 2022, when he was out of office, as part of a now-dropped investigation into the mishandling of classified files after his first White House term.

FBI Director Kash Patel – a Trump loyalist – ordered the firing of at least six agents over their work on the case, NBC News reported.

The FBI declined to comment.

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Trump allegedly kept classified documents – which included records from the Pentagon and CIA – unsecured at his Mar-a-Lago home and blocked efforts to retrieve them.

The materials included secret nuclear and defense documents, according to prosecutors.

US District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, dismissed the documents case against the Republican in July 2024, ruling that former special counsel Jack Smith was unlawfully appointed.

The Justice Department appealed the ruling but dropped the case after Trump won the November 2024 presidential election. Cannon this week also blocked the release of Smith's report.

The FBI Agents Association confirmed that firings had taken place, without specifying a number, and condemned the move in a statement for violating "the due process rights of those who risk their lives to protect" the US.

"These actions weaken the Bureau by stripping away critical expertise and destabilizing the workforce, undermining trust in leadership and jeopardizing the Bureau's ability to meet its recruitment goals – ultimately putting the nation at greater risk," the association said.

Reports said the firings came on the same day Patel claimed authorities had obtained his own phone records in relation to the Trump probes under the Biden administration.