John Chuckman
COMMENT POSTED TO AN ARTICLE IN INVESTMENTWATCH
“Corrupt FBI was running a treasonous espionage operation against Trump… and it’s all about to come out”
Of course, I don't support such activity by a law enforcement agency like the FBI, but here are a few important additional thoughts which make the intense focus on the FBI these days seem rather exaggerated.
First, there can be no question that the "top of the house" had to get the ball rolling on all of this stuff, including the activities of the CIA's Brennan. I mean Obama, but I don't generally see a great deal about that.
Two, the entire history of the FBI is marked by corruption and excess and just plain abuse. See:
https://chuckmanwords.wordpress.com/2009/05/26/the-dreadful-record-of-the-fbi/
Why the sudden rush and noise in Trump’s time when most of the FBI’s illegal and inappropriate activity for decades and decades has pretty much been ignored?
Indeed, the kind of conservatives who support Trump vociferously are undoubtedly the very same folks who would in the past leap to the FBI’s defense when someone questioned or impugned it.
This national investigative agency has always been used by Presidents and others for inappropriate work.
Roosevelt abused it. Johnson abused it. Nixon abused it. Bush abused it. And so did others. It was often used by Presidents to collect compromising information on political opponents. So, what's really new?
Indeed, the FBI itself used such information to influence and even intimidate members of the House and Senate. J Edgar Hoover would hold a brief tête-à-tête with a politician and just suggest, with a sidelong glance or perhaps a wink and a nod, that the FBI was aware of things which might be embarrassing.
His words were always couched in terms suggesting an effort to be helpful, but the threat was clear, and he dominated Washington’s politicians for decades, getting his way on matters of concern, especially where they concerned benefits or changes for the FBI.
Hoover’s personal and secret files at FBI headquarters, skillfully organized files (he was a librarian in his early career and made great use of his skill with file systems in building the FBI), contained all the dirt to be used, and they were not accessible to others. They mysteriously disappeared at the time of his death.
Three, Trump has proved to be such a destructive force in office - a total loss for the nation and the world in terms of economics and trade, the future of traditional alliances, the threat of real war, and just plain public civility, as well as faithful service to illegal requests from Israel - one can almost have sympathy with those who tried to prevent him getting there. Almost.
