Harry Truman referred to the CIA as the Gestapo, but since the origins of the BATF precede the CIA, I respectfully defer to your statement.
Henceforth, I’ll refer the to CIA as the American Stasi.
In Tokugawa Shogunate Japan, they had the Ninja clans. In Nazi Germany, the Gestapo. In East Germany, Stasi. In the Soviet Union, KGB. In Britain, MI6. In Israel, Mossad and Shin Bet. In the US, the CIA and FBI.
Spies. You can’t live with them. You can’t govern without them. You need checks and balances to keep them from simply taking over. But they are really good at circumventing all controls. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be effective. Because of this, they are a mortal danger to democracy at all times.
I have great hopes that Trump will drain the “swamp,” including the intelligence apparatus and corrupt media. But I have greater fears that they will simply kill him. Not the first time that’s happened.
“Henceforth, I’ll refer the to CIA as the American Stasi.”
Still not a very good comparison. There is much to criticize in the operation of the CIA/DNI, especially under Brennan/Clapper, but the CIA doesn’t have domestic police powers like the Gestapo and Stasi did.