Fox News analyst and Washington Examiner chief political correspondent Byron York tweeted today that the blowback against the FBI for instigating an investion of the President for firing Comey will be severe:
“On NYT FBI-investigated-Trump story, we’re still in the credulous reporting stage of this particular Trump-Russia storm, but ultimate blowback against FBI could be pretty severe”
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On NYT FBI-investigated-Trump story, we’re still in the credulous reporting stage of this particular Trump-Russia storm, but ultimate blowback against FBI could be pretty severe. From @jacklgoldsmith: https://t.co/ugSS4GkOGM pic.twitter.com/lZD4UUKEVR
— Byron York (@ByronYork) January 14, 2019
Who could have ever predicted the President might be mad about this, and taker action the FBI might not like?
Jack Goldsmith at Lawfare, explains:
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In this light, the question arises: What turned on the step the FBI took?
Did the bureau need to take that step?
Was the FBI empowered to do something more and different by opening up a counterintelligence investigation against the president?
Did it do so for a practical reason called for by the investigation, in order to ensure that it better understood what happened in 2016?
Or was it just a formal bureaucratic step on which nothing of substance turned?
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This was a question that I raised on the podcast.
None of my colleagues could say that anything at all of substance turned on the designation. (It was later suggested to me that the FBI’s step might have enabled enhanced investigative steps against the president; the matter is unclear.)
If it is true that nothing of substance turned on the designation, then in one sense the step was meaningless, and the FBI was able to proceed to investigate the president’s connections to Russia and the 2016 election as before.
What the FBI has done here is an absolute abuse of power and those responsible should be fired immediately and action taken against them.
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As you might expect reaction was harsh and immediate:
This is what FBI agents thought of Trump and his supporters BEFORE the election. How can you not trust their intentions? pic.twitter.com/sdo6QY6ojy
— McGee (@GipperMcGee) January 14, 2019
Every DOJ and FBI whom had any contact with this investigation should be fired and investigated for treason
— James,MH3 (@jmh3rdone) January 14, 2019
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When does the “buck” get to @POTUS44’s desk. Hell, an elected Android would have been more responsible/accountable, less #clueless/#feckless 😏 #RussiaGate #FBIGate #FISAGate #SteeleDossier https://t.co/YJoZqVw8ou
— BusinessLife Philly (@BizLifePHL) January 14, 2019
Seems like we as a country may be swerving toward a KGB-Gestapo-means of governing. Getting a little scary. Need to get rid of this sh** ASAP! Drain the swamp!
— Geo Schenfeld (@GeoSchenfeld) January 14, 2019
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I want to know who got the ball rolling on this. Why the hell didn’t somebody in the room point out that this is treason.
— Andrew Langley (@Andrew36211974) January 14, 2019
Odd to see democrats cheering on an unchecked and unquestioned FBI with plenary power. They used to be skeptical of police powers.
— Tom Carroll (@tomccarroll) January 14, 2019
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Heads need to roll because of this!
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