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The Rank Shame of the FBI’s Rank and File
American Greatness ^ | July 19, 2021 | Peter D'Abrosca

Posted on 07/20/2021 6:15:21 AM PDT by Heartlander

The Rank Shame of the FBI’s Rank and File

It’s up to the rank and file to earn back the trust and respect of the American people.

More than 530 mostly peaceful Trump supporters have now been arrested for their unauthorized tour of the Capitol on January 6. The incomparable Julie Kelly has covered in grueling detail their arrests, indefinite detainment, and the cruelty with which they’ve been treated by the federal government.

Many of these protesters have been arrested by the FBI, a once-revered federal law enforcement entity that at one point might have deserved your respect.

It doesn’t anymore.

Many conservatives, it seems, lost a great deal of respect for the James Comey-led FBI after it illegally spied on former President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign using the Democratic National Committee’s fake opposition research as pretext. That agency, like law enforcement entities in the Third World, became a political tool meant to help elect a candidate preferred by powerful entities in Washington and beyond. Its plan was foiled, and the members of the organization who, to use the parlance of our times, orchestrated that grave attack on our democracy, were caught red-handed. None of them went to jail. They weren’t even fired. Resignation was the heftiest punishment for perhaps the most egregious crime ever exposed in the United States.

Looking back, the lack of accountability should have been a major warning sign to ordinary Americans. But many of us, especially conservatives, weren’t ready to believe that the entire FBI was rotten to the core, so we explained it away.

“It’s a leadership problem,” many of us thought. “Comey might be an irredeemable, partisan disgrace who led the agency astray, but the rank and file FBI are still fundamentally good.”

We were wrong.

The FBI’s rank and file recently banged down the door of a Florida pastor and his son. Neither were accused of violent crimes, but the rank and file arrested both of them, taking the pastor’s son into custody in front of his three-year-old daughter. The rank and file terrorized a Lakeland, Florida community by shouting through loudspeakers and using flashbang devices in its pre-dawn raid on the home of three January 6 suspects. The rank and file arrested a 69-year-old California woman accused of taking photos in the Capitol building for 30 minutes, after members of the rank and file questioned her without an attorney present. She thought she was helping the rank and file catch the “real” bad guys, only to learn that the rank and file had targeted her as the bad guy for her half-hour of photography.

These types of boorish, melodramatic arrests of by-and-large ordinary Americans have been carried out by the rank and file for more than six months. The manner of the arrests themselves is clearly punitive, meant to send a clear message: the federal government is powerful, and if you are deemed its enemy, you will feel its wrath.

You might think that during such an extended period of time, at least one rank and file FBI member might have thought to himself, “Gee, this seems like overkill,” or “By golly, where are all those violent criminals we’re supposed to be arresting, like the ones on ‘Criminal Minds?’”

You might think that some agents, tired of arresting accused trespassers, would have quit out of sheer boredom.

But if you thought any of these things, you would be wrong.

No members of the rank and file FBI, as far as we know, have acknowledged the immorality of what they are being ordered to do—terrorize and embarrass the political opponents of their own bosses. Not one member of the rank and file FBI has said to himself, “This just isn’t right,” and turned in his badge and gun in protest. That person would be a hero. But that person does not exist.

Instead, the rank and file continue blindly following orders. The rank and file continue to do the bidding of an overbearing state intent on taking extra-judicial punitive action against its political opponents by attempting to frighten them with military-style raids on their homes.

By the way, it’s not just the rank and file who have actually carried out these militarized raids who should be considering their moral imperative to speak out, or quit in protest. It’s every rank and file FBI agent nationwide watching his organization become the enforcement arm of an immoral, authoritarian state.

There is a word for people who sit idly by and refuse to speak up in the face of immorality: cowards.

But at the risk of once again giving the FBI too much credit, I do not believe that the rank and file FBI have a cowardice problem.

Rather, their problem is two-fold.

The first problem is a tragic lack of humility. The rank and file have been programmed to think that they can do no wrong, and they truly believe that. After all, they are members of the esteemed and highly-regarded FBI. They’re not slack-jawed rent-a-cops.

Which brings us to the second problem: the rank and file’s tragic lack of self-awareness.

With its reputation already bruised after the 2016 shenanigans, busting down grandma’s door with automatic weapons drawn and hauling her off to solitary confinement in a D.C. jail for wearing a MAGA cap at the Capitol isn’t doing much to restore the confidence of American conservatives, who historically have supported law enforcement. The rank and file should recognize that they already have lost a certain degree of moral authority in the eyes of the people who traditionally have had their backs, and that they’re losing more moral authority with every trespassing arrest. Without moral authority, the rank and file aren’t esteemed law enforcement agents. They’re just a well-funded gang of goons.

For some Americans, it’s already too late for the FBI to redeem itself. They’ve seen too much political persecution to view the FBI as a legitimate authority deserving of any respect. For others, perhaps there’s still hope.

But the rank and file can’t rely on their bosses to right the ship. That won’t happen. It’s up to the rank and file to earn back the trust and respect of the American people—and thus their moral authority—before it is eroded beyond repair.


TOPICS: Society
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To: Boogieman
The FBI has come a long way from going after the 10 most wanted to conservatives and patriots. (ATF is god-awful as well.)


41 posted on 07/20/2021 10:20:31 AM PDT by Bonemaker (invictus maneo)
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To: Dead Dog

More (and worse) than that, it’s leftist ideology is now the state ideology.


42 posted on 07/20/2021 10:23:20 AM PDT by TimSkalaBim (I am being sarcastic.)
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To: Lurkinanloomin

FBI

SPECIAL AGENT
Location
NATIONWIDE
Regular/TemporaryRegular
Add to My Favorite Jobs
Email to Friend
How To Apply
PLEASE READ THIS JOB POSTING IN ITS ENTIRETY

WHO MAY APPLY
This Special Agent (SA) posting is open to all qualified candidates within the United States (U.S.) and its territories. The FBI will use this to fill multiple vacancies around the country.

JOB SUMMARY
The mission of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution of the United States.

About Us
We’re looking for people with unique skills, experiences, and backgrounds to become Special Agents. The one thing every SA shares is a belief in the mission of the FBI. They have the drive to help keep our nation safe, become part of something bigger than themselves, and take pride in making a difference in the communities they serve.

Special Agents are:

Driven to find solutions to all types of problems.
Compassionate and respectful to everyone they meet.
Adaptable to a variety of situations, and able to keep a calm demeanor in the face of challenges.
Well-spoken, well-written, and enjoy meeting, speaking and collaborating with people from different backgrounds.
Physically fit and able to pass the physical fitness test (PFT).
KEY REQUIREMENTS
You must meet the following requirements at the time of application:
Please click on the link and go to the listed page number, if applicable, for further explanation.

Be a U.S. Citizen
Be between 23 and 36 years of age (Exceptions) [see page 15]
Have a bachelor’s degree or master’s degree [see page 16] from a U.S.-accredited college or university. You should not apply if you have not received your bachelor’s degree
Have at least two (2) years of full-time professional work experience [see page 16] or one (1) year if you have an advanced degree (master’s degree, doctorate degree)
Possess a valid driver’s license and have six months of driving experience
Meet the physical requirements
Meet all FBI employment eligibility requirements
Be able to obtain a Top Secret security clearance
If you are currently active duty in the military, you must be within 15 months of completing your service before submitting your application
Be available for assignment [see page 13] to any of the FBI’s 56 Field Offices
Major Duties
The SA position requires significant commitment and dedication. SAs must:

Adhere to the highest standards of conduct, especially in maintaining honesty and integrity.
Work a minimum of 50 hours per week, which may include irregular hours, and be on-call 24/7, including holidays and weekends.
Maintain a level of fitness necessary to effectively respond to life-threatening situations on the job.
Carry a firearm and be willing to use deadly force, if necessary.
Be willing and able to participate in arrests, execution of search warrants, and other dangerous assignments.


43 posted on 07/20/2021 10:33:01 AM PDT by Bonemaker (invictus maneo)
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To: dforest


44 posted on 07/20/2021 10:44:32 AM PDT by Bonemaker (invictus maneo)
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To: Bonemaker

Yep!


45 posted on 07/20/2021 12:22:20 PM PDT by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped)
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To: Boogieman

“The FBI was created as domestic counterintelligence against the Soviets.”

If I recall correctly, the FBI, and it’s “G-Men”, was created to fight the 1930’s bootleggers and gangsters. JE Hoover was a corrupt bastard who used his position to gather so much dirt on everyone that he could not be removed from the directorship. They’ve been rotten from the beginning.


46 posted on 07/20/2021 12:56:25 PM PDT by myerson
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To: Heartlander

I have zero confidence in the FIB. If it were up to me we would gut all the 3 letter agencies in the District of Corruption.


47 posted on 07/20/2021 2:01:06 PM PDT by FLT-bird
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To: ConservativeInPA

“I will never trust the FBI or any other three-letter intelligence/security agency at the federal level. There is only one solution. That is to shutter all of them and start new without hiring any of the old establishment. That extends down to the lowest janitor. No one should ever be able to make a career out of working for government. A max of 12 years and into the private sector.”

This makes the old “spoils system” seem not so bad. At least the new president could fire everyone and appoint new people.


48 posted on 07/22/2021 2:20:53 AM PDT by rxh4n1
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