Three high-ranking FBI officials filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday alleging their recent terminations were politically motivated retaliation for their past work on cases involving President Donald Trump.

The complaint stems from the August firing of the officials, who had accrued six decades of experience between them—Brian Driscoll, Steven Jensen and Spencer Evans. They claim to have been informed of the news via “cursory, single-page letters.”

The complaint alleges that the firings were a direct result of political pressure from the White House and the Department of Justice to stymie efforts to investigate Trump:

Patel explained [to plaintiff Driscoll] that he had to fire the people his superiors told him to fire, because his ability to keep his own job depended on the removal of the agents who worked on cases involving the President. Patel explained that there was nothing he or Driscoll could do to stop these or any other firings, because ‘the FBI tried to put the President in jail and he hasn’t forgotten it.’ Driscoll indicated his belief that Patel’s reference to his superiors meant DOJ and the White House, and Patel did not deny it.

The plaintiffs specifically pointed out that Patel’s actions directly contravened his vow during confirmation hearings that “no one will be terminated for case assignments.” Each of the plaintiffs had previously worked on cases connected with Trump in the past.

When news of Driscoll’s termination broke last month, Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Committee on the Judiciary, condemned the “political firing,” saying:

Kash Patel’s unceremonious firing of Brian Driscoll reflects the accelerating purge at the FBI of anyone who refuses to pledge their blind and paramount loyalty to Donald Trump over the rule of law and the Constitution … During his short tenure as Acting FBI Director, Driscoll acted to protect thousands of FBI agents who were unjustly targeted by the Justice Department simply for having worked on cases related to the January 6th insurrection.

The complaint alleges that the terminations are in violation of 5 US Code § 7543, which provides that “an agency may take an action…against an employee only for misconduct, neglect of duty, malfeasance, or failure to accept a directed reassignment or to accompany a position in a transfer of function.” The statute also guarantees at least 30 days’ advanced written notice of the action. Read along with 5 US Code § 3151, the statutory schemes imply that FBI Senior Executive Service members are not “at will” employees, according to the plaintiffs.

Additionally, the complaint emphasizes violations of plaintiffs’ Fifth Amendment due process rights for failure to provide them with an opportunity to “challenge the accuracy of any evidence that allegedly serves as the basis for their removal, if any, as well as to protect each of their reputations.” The plaintiffs also note First Amendment violations for “retaliation for perceived political affiliation.”