Thoughts on today’s Wray belay to delay and make all this go away (this is mostly my opinion):
1. Wray is the director of the FBI.
2. Regardless of what we think of the senior (political) miscreants, there are over 10,000 real agents working the streets and battlefields for us. Let’s remember their sacrifices. And let’s remember the tens of thousands of support personnel for these agents.
3. I have a couple very close, and near lifelong, friends who are or were FBI Special Agents. Full disclosure to admit I’m a little biased.
4. The ones who rise to political ranks in the FBI (or “Bu”) are political people and perhaps overly ambitious.
5. There really are two systems of justice in this country for those that have and those that have not. These ambitious, political creatures are the ones who enable that. Let’s not be naive.
6. Despite abuses, the FBI remains the premier Law Enforcement Agency in the world. No one can do what they can do, and no one else has the resources that they have.
7. The Bu needs a BIG spring cleaning if not a total revamp of organization and leadership. No doubt. Some need to go to jail and probably will.
8. As director, Wray must maintain morale of his good forces (white hats?). What else would he say when the IG says senior FBI officials have been taking bribes from reporters? Who else were they taking bribes from? We must assume that these compromised figures would take a bribe from anyone, right? For example, a senior official’s wife who received over half a million dollars laundered from the Xlinton Foundation for a non-existent political campaign? They are in charge of maintaining our national security. They take ‘gifts’ from people to divulge information?!? That’s kind of what they’re supposed to NOT do. Once compromised.... [you can bet that this is something the Bu doesn’t want talked about].
9. IF it can be demonstrated that senior FBI officials can be bribed or blackmailed to influence cases, THEN EVERY case the FBI has prosecuted can be appealed. The government prosecutors will have to prove that the agents involved were not influenced. (q.v. Whitey Bulger).
10. Director Wray did the only thing he could do as the leader of the Bu. He hasn’t stabbed us in the back. He had to say something, he has to maintain legitimacy of the FBI, recognize the hard work of the agents, and at the same time manage all this while cleaning his house. I think he deserves support.
Q said, “Trust Wray”. That’s enough for me.
Or Q Team is a LARP, or the anti-Christ. Whatever.
FReeQ on!
Kit
Like I said somewhere up thread, for me the jury is still out on Wray and could remain that way for some time.
I get it - moral rah rah, etc.
I get it - he still works for RR
Do I trust him? Right now the needle is trending no.
Things will no doubt change soon and we will be able tell the good guys from the bad guys. That day has not arrived.
You will usually find those types in law enforcement leadership positions. It's just the way those type of organizations work. Good, honest street cop types don't rise, usually. Sometimes they do. Joe Arpaio and David Clarke come to mind.
And then you have political appointees, affirmative action hires/promotions, and lawyers all over the FBI. A lawyer is not a cop. And neither is a political appointee usually. And then we wonder why the FBI was politicized?
Anyway, that has been my experience and I know it to be true. Those 24 agents willing to "whistleblow" are most likely pissed off street cop types sickened by their desk monkey bosses F'ing up the FBI.