Kash Patel fired this gay FBI employee over a Pride flag. His federal lawsuit is moving toward discovery

A gay former FBI employee fired over a Pride flag asked a federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday to reject the Trump administration’s effort to dismiss key parts of his lawsuit and allow him to begin seeking internal records and testimony about the decision to end his career.David Maltinsky filed an opposition to the Justice Department’s partial motion to dismiss, arguing that he has sufficiently alleged discrimination and retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. In a separate filing, his attorneys asked U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon to schedule a case management conference so discovery can begin while the dismissal motion remains pending.Maltinsky’s lawyers argue there is no reason to delay discovery because the government has not challenged his First Amendment or Appointments Clause claims. Even if the Justice Department prevails on every issue in its motion, the lawsuit and all of its defendants would remain before the court.Related: Gay former FBI official sues Kash Patel & Pam Bondi for Pride flag firing“This case must head to discovery,” Maltinsky’s attorneys wrote.The filings mark the latest turn in a case that began after FBI Director Kash Patel fired Maltinsky on October 1, 2025, three weeks before he was expected to graduate from the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia.Maltinsky had worked for the bureau for more than 16 years and completed 16 weeks of its 19-week special agent training program. Patel’s termination letter said Maltinsky had exercised “poor judgment” by displaying “political signage” at his former workstation in the FBI’s Los Angeles field office.The signage was a Progress Pride flag.According to Maltinsky’s lawsuit, the FBI had previously flown the flag outside the Wilshire Federal Building in Los Angeles and later entrusted it to him in recognition of his work supporting LGBTQ+ employees. He displayed it with a small placard describing its history.Related: Decorated FBI agent trainee fire