Trump's America: Wouldn't We All Rather Have A Manly KGB Than A Sissy FBI?

Wasn't last week THE BEST? A mere 1/12 of the way through this fucking nightmare, and we're all turning into the walking dead. All the things that just can't happen are happening! Yes, our CEO in Chief fired the head of the FBI because he wouldn't kill the Russia investigation like a loyal henchman. And then he admitted it on national television!!!! Everything that we thought, "No one would ever do that!", well...you can just calendar all that crazy shit for Tuesday.
A radical thought -- to preserve independence, remove politics/partisanship at FBI maybe a loyal partisan politician shouldn't be in charge https://t.co/kEyZzmNJaB
— Preet Bharara (@PreetBharara) May 13, 2017
So, safe bet that Donald Trump is going to break the FBI this week by turning it into a partisan arm that protects him while strangling his political enemies. Trumpland has promised to move fast on replacing James Comey, and four of their twelve short-listed candidates are Republican politicians.
Demonstrating the power to force Trump to pick a mutually acceptable person is the single most important task for congressional Democrats.
— Susan Hennessey (@Susan_Hennessey) May 13, 2017
It is impossible to overstate how HOLY SHIT!!! HAIR ON FIRE!!! crazy this is. The FBI doesn't work for the Red Team or the Blue Team. In a banana republic, police agencies represent politicians or specific political parties. In theory, we are a "democracy" with an "independent justice system." James Comey was never supposed to be "loyal" to the president.
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas began his questioning of FBI Director James Comey on Wednesday morning... https://t.co/FKMZWTwH3Z
— JohnCornyn (@JohnCornyn) May 3, 2017
Ask yourself what Republicans would have done if Obama had proposed to replace Comey with Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid? They'd have burned down the White House! But the media is busy examining the CVs of Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn and House Benghazi Maniac Trey Gowdy like it's normal.
.@TGowdySC: “I don’t think the source matters nearly as much as whether or not the underlying info is authentic and credible.” #First100 pic.twitter.com/KS1C8KUzjU
— Fox News (@FoxNews) March 27, 2017
Substitute Martin O'Malley for Kelly Ayotte, and imagine the Republican shitstorm. Kelly Ayotte was charged with ramming Neil Gorsuch's SCOTUS nomination through the Senate. How is she supposed to lead an FBI with so many pending issues before the Court?
.@KellyAyotte on @FoxBusiness: Republicans are being left with no choice but to change the rules to confirm Neil Gorsuch. pic.twitter.com/Yj1dQI5SCv
— Neil Cavuto (@TeamCavuto) April 3, 2017
Truly sad Dems filibustered such a qualified nominee, now Republicans are left w/ no choice but to move to 51 vote for #SCOTUS confirmation
— Kelly Ayotte (@KellyAyotte) April 6, 2017
FFS, Mike Rogers worked on Donald Trump's campaign!
You have to wonder whether these liberal leaders are smoking something other than Cuban cigars. #STTAhttps://t.co/7a8Oa5Vm7g
— Mike Rogers (@RepMikeRogers) December 6, 2016
I’m not sure the media was paying attention. Isn’t breaking norms Trump’s whole point? #STTAhttps://t.co/YHqAqkGEMi
— Mike Rogers (@RepMikeRogers) December 7, 2016
No, Mike Rogers! Sometimes the "norms" exist to stop us turning into a third-world shithole autocracy. We do not need a political hack running our domestic intelligence service. As Politico reports, that is simply not how it works.
Comey was a career federal prosecutor, former U.S. attorney and one-time No. 2 in the Justice Department.The man he replaced, Robert Mueller, had precisely the same résumé—a career federal prosecutor, former U.S. attorney and one-time No. 2 in the Justice Department.
In contrast, Mike Rogers is a former Congressman with a melodramatic cable show about the intelligence services.
#DECLASSIFIED: Untold Stories of American Spies airs Sunday nights at 10 p.m. ET on @CNN.https://t.co/BuawB4MQA9
— Mike Rogers (@RepMikeRogers) June 28, 2016
But please, tell us more about how Comey had to go because he was such a "showboat."
Today Nikki Haley went on ABC and insisted that employees of the executive branch serve at the pleasure of the president.
.@nikkihaley: "The president is the CEO of the country. He can hire and fire whomever he wants." https://t.co/oDpvOp1Ojl pic.twitter.com/7vGkUtmDGo
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) May 14, 2017
No. Just, NO. First of all, Haley fudges the distinction between political and non-political appointees. While the president has appointment power over his cabinet, he cannot hire and fire the men and women who make up the federal bureaucracy. Viciously attacking the professionals who have dedicated their careers to working in the federal government as "part of the deep state" is reprehensible. It's also really fucking stupid. Or, as Chuck Schumer put it--
Let me tell you, you take on the intelligence community, they have six ways from Sunday at getting back at you.So even for a practical, supposedly hard-nosed businessman, he’s being really dumb to do this.
Moreover, Trump must get confirmation from the Senate for those high-level executive branch appointments. Because he is not the goddamn CEO of America!
#NotesFromUnderTrump, Day 114: Wherein I awake believing that agreeing to be nominated as FBI Director at this moment may be disqualifying.
— Benjamin Wittes (@benjaminwittes) May 14, 2017
And most importantly, it is NOT NORMAL for presidents to fire the head of the FBI. Cabinet secretaries are replaced with every new administration. Incoming presidents are entitled to appoint new ambassadors and US Attorneys. But FBI Directors serve a ten-year, non-renewable term precisely because they are not supposed to be political appointees. Republicans are telling a bald-faced lie when they pretend that it's all business as usual, nothing to see here when Trump fires Comey. FBI Director Louis Freeh went to the White House to get a blood sample from Bill Clinton to compare with the semen stain on Monica Lewinsky's infamous blue dress. AND STILL, Clinton didn't fire Louis Freeh!
James Comey will be replaced by someone who will do a far better job, bringing back the spirit and prestige of the FBI.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 10, 2017
Donald Trump told Jeanine Pirro that he was surprised at the Democratic outcry over firing James Comey. No one on the left loves Comey! We're just shit-scared that the Despotic Loon in Chief is going to turn the FBI into the Stasi! Can you blame us?
[ Politico / Lawfare / Lawfare, again / Just Security ]
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Liz Dye lives in Baltimore with her wonderful husband and a houseful of teenagers. When she isn't being mad about a thing on the internet, she's hiding in plain sight in the carpool line. She's the one wearing yoga pants glaring at her phone.