Can anyone point out an instance when the FBI accomplished anything useful that couldn’t have been accomplished just as effectively by any other of the myriad agencies and police departments in fed and state government?
It seems to me the FBI was a bad idea from the very start— a bad idea realized by a deranged megalomaniac: Hoover.
I’m glad your raised this point.
Most people never question the underlying premises, especially when it comes to government. Of course, those in government never want you to.
1. FBI is essentially a secret organization like many other agencies such as dea, cia. So, the public is entirely dependent on those agencies to give us truthful and accurate information. I don’t care how good these individuals might be, but it’s impossible to be truthful and secret at the same time. In fact it is more likely that secrecy will corrupt and attract corrupt individuals.
2. Because they are federal agencies there are no effective checks on their power. They can’t be voted out, the president has little control, and the AG really has few checks on power. Same with department heads because of secrecy. At the State level, these agents would be under AG or governor and could be voted out or even checked by a federal court.
3. Information is power. This allows agents at all levels to exert leverage on witnesses to obtain false testimony or blackmail political figures that are looking into their actions.
But you more basic points that we can never know how effective or ineffective the FBI is because we cannot do a prospective study on their effectiveness.