James Dennehy

James E. Dennehy is a former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) official who served as the assistant director in charge of the New York Field Office from September 2024 until his directed retirement in early 2025. Prior to his tenure in New York City, he held leadership roles within the FBI, including special agent in charge of the intelligence and surveillance division and head of the Newark Field Office, following a career in counterintelligence and counterproliferation.

Education Dennehy earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Villanova University.

Career

U.S. Marine Corps Dennehy served as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps for seven years, during which he was deployed to Haiti, Liberia, and the Adriatic Sea.

Federal Bureau of Investigation Dennehy joined the FBI as a special agent in 2002 and was assigned to the New York Field Office, where he worked on counterintelligence cases. Dennehy received the FBI Director's Award for Outstanding Counterintelligence Investigation, the Attorney General's Award for Furthering the Interests of National Security, and multiple National Intelligence Meritorious Unit Citations.

In an email to staff shortly after the second presidential transition of Donald Trump, Dennehy wrote that the FBI was in "the middle of a battle" as officials were being removed from the bureau and targeted for their work. He expressed his support for the agency's acting leadership, Brian Driscoll and Robert Kissane, and told staff it was "time for [him] to dig in."

Amid the early 2025 U.S. federal mass layoffs, Dennehy was directed to retire from his role leading the FBI's New York Field Office. His departure followed conflicts with the U.S. Department of Justice over directives from the Trump administration, including a request for the names of FBI personnel involved in the January 6 United States Capitol attack investigation. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi criticized Dennehy's office for allegedly withholding files related to Jeffrey Epstein, though no evidence was provided to support this claim. Dennehy stated in an email to colleagues that he was given no reason for his removal.