An FBI supervisor resigned last week amid internal disagreement over the investigation into the fatal Minneapolis ICE shooting of Renee Good, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
Tracee Mergen, the acting supervisor of the FBI’s Public Corruption Squad in the Minneapolis field office, stepped down after facing pressure tied to the direction of the Good investigation, sources said. Her unit had been involved in examining the shooting earlier this month before federal prosecutors shifted the case’s classification.
Mergen left the bureau “in part due to the pressure on her to reclassify or discontinue the investigation,” a source with knowledge of her departure told CBS News. Another FBI source said Mergen “would not bow to pressure” from leadership.
Her departure was first reported by The New York Times.
The shooting of Renee Good by an ICE officer was initially treated as a civil rights investigation. Justice Department leadership later ordered the FBI and prosecutors to reframe the case as an assault on a federal officer and instructed investigators to examine potential criminal conduct by Good’s wife, according to prior reporting.
The FBI declined to comment on Mergen’s resignation. Spokesman Ben Williamson said the bureau does not discuss personnel matters but addressed the investigation itself in a statement.
“The facts on the ground do not support a civil rights investigation. FBI continues to investigate the incident as well as the violent criminal actors and those perpetrating illegal activity,” Williamson said.
The FBI supervisor resigns as pressure mounted internally over how investigators handled the Minneapolis ICE shooting probe, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Mergen’s squad also handled sensitive public corruption cases, including probes connected to Minnesota’s Feeding Our Future nonprofit, which federal prosecutors have described as the largest COVID-era fraud scheme in the United States.
According to a source with direct knowledge of the matter, the squad has been under pressure from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s office to examine whether campaign finance violations were linked to the benefits fraud case.
FBI officials told Blanche’s office they reviewed campaign contributions associated with the nonprofit but did not uncover evidence tying the fraud to illegal political donations, the source said.
CBS News reported it attempted to reach Mergen for comment but did not receive a response.
The resignation comes as protests and political scrutiny continue to mount in Minnesota over federal immigration enforcement and the handling of the Good shooting, placing renewed attention on how federal law enforcement agencies manage internal disputes tied to high-profile cases.
The FBI supervisor resigns as protests and political scrutiny continue to grow over the The FBI supervisor resigns as protests and political scrutiny continue to grow over the handling of the Minneapolis ICE shooting investigation.
