The Washington Post recently broke the disturbing news regarding an internal battle between the US Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, revealing that a select few agents within the FBI wanted to shut down the explosive Trump stolen document probe before it ever had a chance to even lift off the ground, as they were “afraid” that following through with the search and seizure warrant raid against the ex-president’s Mar-a-Lago resort turned post-White House home would seal their fates as political targets of the scandal-ridden, disgraced former president.
Now, one former senior FBI department assistant director is trying to warn the American public that this bombshell revelation should raise serious concerns.
The Post reported:
Prosecutors argued that new evidence suggested Trump was knowingly concealing secret documents at his Palm Beach, Fla., home and urged the FBI to conduct a surprise raid at the property. But two senior FBI officials who would be in charge of leading the search resisted the plan as too combative and proposed instead to seek Trump’s permission to search his property, according to the four people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a sensitive investigation.”
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Former assistant director of the FBI counterintelligence division, Frank Figliuzzi, penned a fiery MSNBC column and noted that, while disputes over how to proceed within any given case are relatively normal, this particular revelation brings with it far more disturbing and unsettling concerns, as it reveals that the battle between the DOJ and FBI with regard to the Trump document case was born of Donald Trump’s ability to directly intimidate senior officials within one of the nation’s most powerful entities, to such a degree that those officials were visibly reluctant to cross his path, despite the trove of evidence against him.
Figliuzzi points out that overwhelming fear of Donald Trump’s anger and wrath has grown deep enough to apparently hinder high-ranking law enforcement officials from conducting what should be a very thorough investigation, based on the mountain of evidence available in the case.
“Why did this happen?” the former senior FBI official questioned. “How did the FBI get to the point where some of its field office officials reportedly lost the compass that’s supposed to point them to the correct path? Why was there such a protracted delay in seeking and executing the Mar-a-Lago warrant, and why were some FBI agents reportedly wanting to treat the Trump case differently than other cases involving an uncooperative, deceptive former government employee?”
Figliuzzi cuts to the quick of it all, noting that at the root, it appears that Donald Trump’s incessant bullying tactics are working.
“Some FBI agents may have been responding to growing perceptions that their beloved institution had become too political. Some may have been remembering the unfair treatment of previous FBI agents and leaders who got on the wrong side of Trump, and still others may have been acting out of political allegiance with the former president,” Frank writes.
“If agents like that are assigned to one of the highest-profile cases in FBI history — it’s time to find some new agents.”
“Trump’s allies like to claim that the FBI is at war with him, but agents’ reported reluctance to aggressively investigate him, as they would anyone else, reminds us that Trump has long been at war with the FBI,” the former official explains. “His tactics may have succeeded in eroding the public’s confidence in the bureau, and even some agents’ confidence in themselves. But Mar-a-Lago was still searched. So it’s way too early for Trump to declare victory.”
To be frank, this should terrify you.
Read Figliuzzi’s full MSNBC column here.
Featured image via Political Tribune Gallery