Does the FBI Have a Pro-Hillary Bias?
Trump has called out both the FBI and the Justice Department for leading a “witch hunt” against him while ignoring Hillary Clinton. While these claims have largely been dismissed as bluster, a memo prepared by Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes may show that Trump was right – at least partially. The memo (as many suspect) may turn out to be unfounded, but it’s hard to say for sure as long as the memo remains classified. Republicans, believing it exposes FBI and Justice Department abuses of power, may soon have it released. More at NPR.
The president could risk overplaying his hand by whipping up his base over allegations against the investigation that could yet prove exaggerated or unfounded. And his involvement in promoting these allegations against the FBI may automatically dissuade much of the public, Democrats, and media from taking the situation seriously…
One GOP operative said Trump should rely on advisers to lay out the case against the Justice Department “instead of blurting out the first thing that comes to [his] mind.”
Hillary Clinton’s sure victory certainly also explains the likely warping of the FISA courts by FBI careerists seeking to use a suspect dossier to surveille Trump associates — and the apparent requests by Samantha Power, Susan Rice, and others to read surveilled transcripts of Trump associates, unmask names, and leak them to pet reporters. Again, all these insiders were playing the careerist odds. What we view as reprehensible behavior, they at the time considered wise investments that would earn rewards with an ascendant President Hillary Clinton.
Republicans who have viewed the Nunes document will have you believe it’s incredibly explosive. Congressman Matt Gaetz said it’s “jaw-dropping,” and called for its public release. Representative Steve King said it was “worse than Watergate.” Over the past week, thousands of Americans—as well as likely bots linked to Russia—have flooded Twitter with the hashtag #ReleaseTheMemo…
Nunes has successfully manufactured a controversy designed to undermine the Justice Department’s investigation into the Trump campaign’s connections to Russia…