Lawyering, Politics

“Insubordination”: FBI Official Accused of Defying White House Reform Efforts

Last week, some of us discussed concerns over the demand of the Trump Administration for the names of all FBI agents involved in January 6th cases. While noting that we did not have all of the details, I wrote that this would be a critical test for the Administration between reform and revenge. Line FBI agents should not face punishment for carrying out the orders of their superiors or courts. Now, the Trump Administration has offered additional information, alleging an alarming defiance by a high-ranking official in sharing information. If true, the controversy involving Acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll is reminiscent of the entirely improper conduct of former acting Attorney General Sally Yates.

Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove released a statement stating that FBI agents were never being rounded up or targeted for their work on the cases. A reported force of over 5,000 agents was assigned to these cases.

According to Bove, Driscoll refused to turn over the “core team” involved in Washington, D.C., in the cases as part of its review of the weaponization of the legal system under the Biden Administration. Bove’s memo stated that:

“That insubordination necessitated, among other things, the directive in my January 31, 2025 memo to identify all agents assigned to investigations relating to January 6, 2021. In light of acting leadership’s refusal to comply with the narrower request, the written directive was intended to obtain a complete data set that the Justice Department can reliably pare down to the core team that will be the focus of the weaponization review pursuant to the Executive Order.”

Bove dismissed allegations of a purging of the ranks:

“Let me be clear: No FBI employee who simply followed orders and carried out their duties in an ethical manner concerning January 6 investigations is at risk of termination or other penalties. The only individuals who should be concerned about the process initiated by my January 31, 2025 memo are those who acted with corrupt or partisan intent, who blatantly defied orders from Department leadership, or who exercised discretion in weaponizing the FBI.”

Again, we have not heard Driscoll’s side. Yet, I cannot understand the basis for an FBI official to refuse to share such information with his superiors in the Administration. One can raise concerns over the motivations or even the legality of measures taken against line agents. One can also object that there is no reason to collect the broader information after being allegedly denied the narrower request. However, the Administration has every right to such information, particularly as part of its long-promised review of the agency during the campaign.

The alleged defiance brought back memories from the start of the first Trump term. As previously discussed, Yates was lionized for her stance in the media. She was then selected as one of the featured speakers at the Democratic National Convention in 2020 and presented as the personification of a new Justice Department’s commitment to the rule of law. Yates declared: “I was fired for refusing to defend President Trump’s shameful and unlawful Muslim travel ban.” The problem is, she wasn’t. She was fired for telling an entire department not to defend a travel ban that ultimately was upheld as lawful.

I was critical of the initial memorandum supporting the travel ban, particularly its failure to exempt lawful residents. However, I also said Trump’s underlying authority would likely be found constitutional. Despite revisions tweaking its scope and affected countries, opponents insisted it remained unlawful and discriminatory. They continued to litigate on those same grounds all the way to the Supreme Court, where they lost two years ago.

The Supreme Court ruled in Trump v. Hawaii that the president had the authority to suspend entry of noncitizens into the country based on nationality and had a “sufficient national security justification” for his order. It also held that, despite most of the banned countries being Muslim-majority, the ban “does not support an inference of religious hostility.”

That is why Yates deserved to be fired. Yates issued her order shortly after learning of the travel ban and despite being told by Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel it was a lawful order. She never actually said it was unlawful, only that she was not sure and was not convinced it was “wise or just.” Rather than working to address clear errors in the original ban, she issued her categorical order as she prepared to leave the department in a matter of days. Yates maintained afterward that she believed the ban might still be discriminatory, even with revisions. The courts rejected those claims.

Yates was due to retire from Justice within days when she engineered her own firing. It made her an instant heroine and allowed her to denounce Trump at the convention for “trampl[ing] the rule of law, trying to weaponize our Justice Department.” But that’s precisely what she did when she ordered an entire department not to assist the recently elected president.

It is not clear what transpired between Bove and Driscoll, but I cannot imagine a basis for refusing to share personnel information and records with the Trump Administration.

The initial coverage of the request clearly omitted this context and led to the usual media stampede declaring a purging of the ranks by political commissars. The irony is that, once again, the true story may be even more interesting in an alleged defiance of the Trump Administration within the FBI. We have seen recently the actual locking out of Trump officials from agencies like US AID, leading to a security official being placed on leave.

As someone who covered the first Administration, this is a very different profile and approach. Trump learned in his first term how officials could stymie and delay reforms. That process has begun anew, including a plethora of lawsuits designed to slowdown such efforts. However, the Administration is moving far more aggressively in this second term. If Trump wanted to defibrillate the federal system and shock the status quo, he is succeeding in doing so.

I have no problem with officials raising concerns over possible personnel action against agents who were only carrying out their assigned tasks. These officials have a duty to advocate for their agents and insulate their institution from concerns over political retaliation. However, if the FBI refused to supply personnel information, it would move the matter from internal deliberation to outright defiance of a lawful order.

 

274 thoughts on ““Insubordination”: FBI Official Accused of Defying White House Reform Efforts”

  2. The Nuremberg principle must apply to FBI agents who participated in politically motivated investigations and prosecutions against Americans exercising their right to protest. If agents knowingly violated inalienable rights, they cannot be shielded by the excuse that they were merely “doing their job.”

    Let’s go back to Nuremberg and the Holocaust—what if the majority of Nazi camp guards had just said no? Think that’s impossible? The guards said no in Romania in 1989. The guards said no in the Soviet Union in 1991. The Nazi guards could have said no, the FBI could have said no. “Every subject’s soul is his own.”

    Firing 5,000 FBI agents is not just about righting past wrongs—it is about ensuring that no future administration attempts a similar stunt. Every government employee must fear the consequences of violating their oath, or else violations will continue indefinitely.

  3. Jonathan: I have a Q for you. Would you want a private citizen who was never elected to official, never held an official position in any administration to now have access to all your personal information–your bank accounts, your SS, Medicare or Medicaid data, your Email address–just about everything about you which you expected to be protected against snooping? As Rep. Goldman put the problem: “@ElonMusk gave Trump $250 million so Trump handed him control of America’s checkbook. Musk and his 20-something Doge cadre can now access your Social Security number, home address and more. This is unprecedented corruption, an invasion of privacy, and a threat to national security”.

    It’s pretty clear who is in charge. It’s “President” Musk who is invading our privacy, slashing and burning his way through government agencies–laying off government agency workers without prior notice, abolishing the USAid and who now has his sights on abolishing the Dept. of Education. All this in defiance of the law where only Congress can abolish a government agency.

    And what is the actual elected “President” doing about this? Is he trying to reign in Musk’s illegal actions? Nope. He thinks if Musk gets in trouble with the laws and the courts DJT can claim “I didn’t know what was going on over there”. Besides DJT is too busy rounding up and deporting the undocumented, engaging in futile and destructive trade wars, threatening to invade Greenland and the Panama Canal, pressuring Canada to become the 51st state–and now saying the US will annex the Gaza Strip and deport 2 million Palestinian Gazans to Egypt and Jordan. DJT is one busy guy so he doesn’t have time to supervise Musk’s work to see maybe Musk is violating the law.

    As to Gaza what madman would want the US to annex the Gaza Strip? Well, it would solve Netanyahu’s goal of getting rid of the Gazans and make it DJT’s problem of deporting 2 million Gazans to Egypt and Jordan–which they wouldn’t agree to accept in any case. But ever the real estate developer DJT has a secret plan. He has said he wants to turn Gaza into a “Riviera of the Middle East”–tearing down the Strip and rebuilding it with luxury hotels and condos with the “Trump” brand. And all at US taxpayer expense. Who says DJT is not an evil genius?

    1. Interesting. So by your count, USAID has the info on every American, their personal information? The US Treasury has all of that information? That would be a very interesting thing to hear and understand. I do not think that is the case, and should not be the case.

    2. “I have a Q for you. Would you want a private citizen who was never elected to official, never held an official position in any administration to now have access to all your personal information–your bank accounts, your SS, Medicare or Medicaid data, your Email address–just about everything about you which you expected to be protected against snooping?”
      And that has not happened.

      Elon Musk has access to Federal SPENDING – he has access to data about the spending decisions of the Federal Govenrment – the bank accounts of the federal govenrment
      NOT YOU.

      All you do with this nonsense is prove that you are desparately scared of what he will find.

      The USAID story is getting worse by the day. Most of us who have paid attantion – KNEW that USAID was involved in funding in Gaza and that some of that money had gotten to Hamas and that atleast one USAID worker participated in the Oct 7 terrorist attack.
      All that is old news. Some of us were a bit skeptical to be told that USAID is actually a CIA front. But as more is emerging – not only is that proving to be true, but USAID’s has been involved in all kinds of black projects targeting regimes accross the world.
      USAID appears to have been involved in the funding of Al Qeda to take out Assad – that would be AFTER 9/11. So now we have the US govenrment, the CIA and specifically USAID invovled in funding the perpitrators of the worts terrorist act on US soil in history AFTER that act took place for the purpose of deposing the leader of a country who is NOT hostile to the US.
      Absolutely Assad is a bad dude – as is Erodigan and MBS and pretty much all mideastern leaders.
      But our govenrment – the CIA, USAID participated in funding THE terrorist group responsible for the worst Terrorist act in US history, to take down a regime that posed no threat to the US.

      And this is just the tip of the iceberg. The CIA analyst/Whistle blower in the 2019 Trump impeachment ? His source ACCORDING TO HIS complaint filed with the IG, was a CIA/USAID funded media outlet that few have heard of who got their information from USAID.

      There are a long long list of crimes, violations of the law, and constitutional violations here.
      https://x.com/shellenberger/status/1887282174321152095/photo/1

        1. This story is WORSE than Watergate – FAR WORSE. This is not a handful of whakos nominally operating out of the AG’s office, doing stupid things for god knows what reason.

          This is multiple govenrment agencies conspiring – if the US was at war – this would ACTUALLY meet the constitutional definition of Treason.

          This is also the worst fear regarding intelligence agencies come to fruition.
          This is the stuff of John Le Care novels.

          We have USAID – which does NOT have this kind of access tot he WH or the Trump/Zelensky phoen call or transcripts,
          planting a story in a media outlet they and CIA run, and then a CIA analyst using that story as the source to contact congress to setup the impeachment of a sitting president.

          This is not only really bad, but a subtext is that within these agencies ops like this a common – though not usually targeted at the US president.

          This is in the same week that we learn that CIA was working With Al Qeda after 9/11 for a long time to topple Assad.

    3. “As Rep. Goldman put the problem: “@ElonMusk gave Trump $250 million so Trump handed him control of America’s checkbook.”
      Yup, Musk is auditing the checkbook.
      That was made absolutely no secret during the election.

      “Musk and his 20-something Doge cadre can now access your Social Security number, home address and more.”
      Nope. First that information is NOT in what Trump has access to, and further – that is all information that anyone can buy online relatively cheap.
      You should not worry that Musk has this information – because he does not. But you should worry that Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, … all DO have that information.

      “This is unprecedented corruption, an invasion of privacy, and a threat to national security”.
      It is not true that Musk has that information.
      It is not true that if he did it would be an invasion of privacy or a threat to national security.
      The information you describe is available to most of the IRS, most of SSA.
      But that information pales in comparison to the data that NSA has gathered on you without a warrant and is stored in Cheyenne mountain that is accessible to hundreds of thousands in govenrment – as well as even more working for government contractors.
      Your phone calls, location data on your cell phone who you talked to when you talked to them every where you traveled.
      And we would not know this – but for Edward Snowden.

      But lets go further – this sensitive information that you claim Musk has access to – which is NOT part of the systems that musk is accessing,
      a significant portion of it is already available to Musk – if you have an account on X/twitter or Bezos if you bought something on Amazon, or Zuckerberg if you have a facebook account. But if that were not enough – The private credit companies int eh US have all that information and much much much more. And pretty much anyone can buy that from them relatively cheaply.

      Do you have a mortgage ? Do you rent an apartment ? Did you get a car loan ? You have given all the same information to a bank or private party who has then reported it all to the various credit companies.

      if you do not have your browser locked down – and pretty much no one does Google knows far far more about you – it knows your preferences – possibly better than you do, it knows where you have traveled, and it is selling that infomation to anyone who wants it.
      If you use a smart phone – apple, google and many other know pretty much everything you do with that phone and everwhere you go.

    4. You must be incredibly terrified of what Musk will find.

      Every day new revalations about USAID come out. I had no doubt they were woke and corrupt – anyone paying attention knows that USAID actors were involved in Oct 7 in Israel. But I laughed when I heard they were a CIA front.

      Stupid me. Micheal Schellenberger reports today – using information from the IG report on the 2019 Trump impeachment that USAID, a USAID/CIA funded media outlet conspired with a CIA analyst to trigger the 2019 impeachment of Trump.
      The source of the information that the CIA whistleblower reported was NOT from the WH, it was NOT transcripts.
      It was news reporting from a USAID/CIA run media outlet.

      The left went bonkers when Mitchells plumbers broke into the DNC head quarters.
      This is USAID/CIA conspiring to stage a coup against a sitting president.

      This is DARK Schiff.

      1. It looks like he’s got the goods on them. He’s been working in the last 4 years. This is 3rd working term. He wasn’t paid anyway.

    5. Make up your mind – is Trump and “evil genius? or stupid as dirt, demented, a fat pig with massive health problems and low energy ?

        2. I am not paid to write here.
          But you could learn to read, as well as what coherent actually means.

          But because you are slow. Your claims about Trump are self contradictory – it is not logically possible for him to be all the things you say he is. Therefore you are either slow or a liar. Which is it ?

    6. Who the —- has been running the White House for the past for years.

      Oh, I know, let’s call Barack Obama, Valerie Jarrett, Susan Rice, Denis McDonough, and the rest of the “Fundamental Transformation Gang” and ask them.

      1. There is little doubt that lots of nefarious stuff happened under Obama and Biden – and even under Trump. This CIA/USAID plot to oust Trump occured WHILE Trump was president. We have democrats on the hill demanding that Trump appointees not be loyal to Trump,
        While we learn all the different ways those in his governemt were stabbing him in the back.

        We have the left ranting and even turley about innocent FBI line agents.

        This is absolutely NOT innocent. This is far worse than Watergate, This is an attempted coup.

        The next question is how much of this did house democrats know ?

    7. “who now has his sights on abolishing the Dept. of Education.”
      Good, Kill it – it is a massive waste of money.
      DoE serves no purpose – public education is a state function in the US.

      ” All this in defiance of the law where only Congress can abolish a government agency.”
      No one is defying the law. USAID was created by EO, it can be killed by EO.
      DoE will require legislation to shutter. Musk is gathering the evidence to support doing so.
      Good job.

      Milton Freidman on of the 4 greatest economists of the past century on which federal govenment departments to keep or abolish
      Over 40 years ago. You seem to think that trying to pare down govenrment is a new or extreme idea.
      Not a single department that Friedmen eliminates existed in most of US history.

      1. # The DoE was begun because of poor States with deadbeat governments. It basically took from wealthier States and redistributed. Then it went to a basic framework of study. If a pupil moved from Arkansas to Connecticut the education standards would have been the same. Now its moving into religious online education. There hasn’t been a word about one course download for 10 thousand pupils cost is 100 dollars but the funding is 13 thousand per pupil. 😂 profitable

    8. What actions of Musk are illegal ?
      Edward Snowden a 20 something employee of a private contractor working for NSA had access to far more information than Musks engineers.
      Are you lobbying for a pardon for Snowden ? I am.

      There most be thosuands of 20 somethings who are not engineers who have access to this information in Treasury, SSA, IRS.

      I was just on the phone with the IRS today. I had to verify my name, address, phone number SS# DOB place of Birth. same information for my wife, and even my mother who has been dead for 20 years.

      All that was to a scheduling clerk at the IRS.

      BTW
      NONE of this information requires a security clearance.

      Separately Musk with near certainty has a TS/SCI clearance – BEFORE dealing with Trump. SpaceX launches spy satellites for DoD and NSA, you are not allowed to even know how much those weigh without a TS/SCI.

      I am sure that Musks engieers have equivalent clearances – but even if they do not – you aparently were not paying attention to the Trump classified Docs cases. National security is the exclusive domain of the president – read the constitution. What is and is not classified and who can access it is a power vested exclusively in the president. The president can classify the information declassify it or give it to whoever he pleases

      Nothing to see here.

    9. Musk can not “Get in trouble with the law or the courts” The president can grant access to any information within the executive branch to anyone.

      If there is a court case – the left will lose.

      Trump is saying “I did not know the bad things USAID was doing” – now it will be closed.

    10. “Besides DJT is too busy rounding up and deporting the undocumented”
      They are not undocumented – they are illegal. You can pretendt he violation fo the law is deminimus but it is still a violation of the law.

      You will get nowhere fighting a speeding ticket by claiming you were not actually speeding, you were just “undocumented”.

    11. “engaging in futile and destructive trade wars”
      Not a single trade war so far.
      Canada, Mexico, Columbia, Venezuela and the EU have all made concessions to Trump – with more coming.

    12. “threatening to invade Greenland and the Panama Canal”
      Panama has thrown out the chinese and is working with Rubio to make Trump happy.

    13. “US will annex the Gaza Strip and deport 2 million Palestinian Gazans to Egypt and Jordan”
      That is going to be tough
      NO ONE wants palestinians – NO ONE

      They have turned paradise into h3ll.

    14. “DJT is one busy guy”
      I though you said he was old decrepit and lazy ?
      ” so he doesn’t have time to supervise Musk’s work to see maybe Musk is violating the law.”
      Musk is auditing the govenrment – the presdent has the authority to do that and he fcan delegate it as he pleases.

    15. “As to Gaza what madman would want the US to annex the Gaza Strip? Well, it would solve Netanyahu’s goal of getting rid of the Gazans and make it DJT’s problem of deporting 2 million Gazans to Egypt and Jordan–which they wouldn’t agree to accept in any case. But ever the real estate developer DJT has a secret plan. He has said he wants to turn Gaza into a “Riviera of the Middle East”–tearing down the Strip and rebuilding it with luxury hotels and condos with the “Trump” brand. And all at US taxpayer expense. Who says DJT is not an evil genius?”

      Now your getting it. But for the h3llhole that Gazans have made of it – the Gaza strip is incredibly valueable.

      The Palestinians in Gaza could have chosen peace and wealth. Instead they chose terrorism war, poverty and death.

      I do not know what Trump’s real plan for Gaza is – nor do you.

      But Trump is an “evil genius” and he has just sent a message to the palestinians, the Saudis and other arab nations.

      he just told them all that Gaza is VALUABLE.
      That the fact that the Palestinians live in poverty is THEIR OWN FAULT.

      That they had a choice and they picked terrorism war and poverty.

      He has just told arab nations that there is no good reason to provide Gaza with Billions in aide.

      That they have the ability to create wealth without anyones help.

      But that completely went over your head.
      I will bet it did NOT go over the head of MBS or Qatar.

    16. For at least the last 30 years I have wanted someone, ANYONE, to take a meataxe to the Federal Government. 75%+ needs to be permanently eliminated. Ever single Federal law, rule, and regulation needs to be sunsetted and reevaluated with only the bare minimum to prevent chaos coming back, so when you ask if I am comfortable that outside eyes is actually finally getting to the bottom of all of the criminal waste and corruption going in the cesspit we call Washington my answer is not yes,, it’s hell yes.

      I told anyone who listened during the campaign I was voting to burn it all to the ground because you can’t build something new unless you first destroy the old.

    17. ” Would you want a private citizen who was never elected to official, never held an official position in any administration to now have access to all your personal information–your bank accounts, your SS, Medicare or Medicaid data, your Email address–just about everything about you which you expected to be protected against snooping?”
      What difference does it make if they are elected ?
      Regardless, The Head of Social Security was not elected, the head of the IRS, the sec Treas – all not elected.
      The myriads of people ion government – right down to the scheduling clerk at the IRS today who kne w my email, my address my phone number my wifes name and phone number, the hospital I was born in, my long dead mothers maiden name, and my AGI for the past several years.
      She was not elected. The only thing I know about her is that she answered a phone number that was purportedly texted to me by the IRS because my appointment today needed to be rescheduled.
      I know 10,000 times more about Musk than her. If Musk does something evil with the information he has access to you can bet there will be a 400B dollar class action lawsuit.

      Regardless, I share personal information with private actors all the time, I share it with my bank, with my internet provider, with lots of insurance companies. With anyone I buy anything of substance from, with anyone I borrow from, with anyone who hires me.
      I trust them – but I also know I can sue their asses into oblivion if they mishandle my private information to my harm.
      I mos certainly trust the guy who can catch million lb rockets with chopsticks.

      What I do NOT trust is the government. You like to Rant about Trump – I do not trust Trump or Biden or anyone in federal state or local governemnt with that information. I have a snowballs chance in h311 of getting made whole if they F#$K up with it.
      Government is supposed to have to get a warrant to obtain this information – but it can now coax it out of banks with ease, and Require me to provide personal information just to pay taxes that Govenrment obligates me to pay.

      When I boroow money from a bank – I have a choice – give them my private information and get the loan or do not give that information and do not get the loan. I am “Free To Choose” whether I will share that information.
      I have no such freedom with Government -0 even though the constituion says I have the right to be secure from government in my personal information. That Government needs a warrant to obtain it.

      You ask me if I trust Musk more than some elected official – or worse still some unelected Bureaucrat ?
      ROFL

      Absolutely – I trust musk 400B time more.

      What kind of idiot are you ?

      You have made a point of ranting how evil Trump is and that you think he lies about everything and now here you are essentially saying I should Trust Trump because he was elected – but not musk because he is not ?

      Do you actually think before you write this garbage.

      Rep Goldman is the lowest IQ member of congress. If you were smart you would assume whatever he says is ridiculously stupid.

    18. “. . . tearing down the Strip . . .”

      Fortunately, that part of the work has already been done.

      Next time, tell your “peaceful” “Palestinians” not to invade Israel. And not to use Gaza as a launchpad for terrorism.

  4. Having served in a Staff position and being reqired to carry out lawful orders I did not agree with, I can say anyone who defies such an order must be terminated without prejudice. These people have demonstrated an inability to follow orders. They think they have no boss…….

  5. Trump, in his first term, appears to have thought that the FBI was basically “good.” He more or less trusted it and left it alone. Clearly the years between terms showed him that he was wrong. Now it is his turn to reorganize it and run it. Isn’t that what those horrible people who occupied the Presidency before and after his first term did? Let’s get Patel in there and flush the poison ftom the body politic.

    1. “Now it is his turn to reorganize it and run it. ”

      Or (my overwhelming preference) shut it the fvck down. Along with ATF

  6. “The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting,” [Trump] said. Palestinians “would have already been resettled in far safer and more beautiful communities, with new and modern homes, in the region.” He added: “No soldiers by the U.S. would be needed!”

    And you voted for this dufus.

    1. Hmmm…. and haven’t the Saudis said that is a nonstarter? Seems like a provacative statement from President Trump is what it takes to get the posteriorifices in the region to step up.

    3. Make up your mind – either Trump is an evil genius or a dufus.

      Van Jones – Trump is smarter than all of us.
      https://x.com/DefiantWorld/status/1886497383636459877

      Regardless, as Salena Zito reported in 2016 as a reported following Trump who was very early in reporting that something was going on and that he could win.

      “Trump supporters take Trump seriously but not litterally,
      while his detractors take him litterally but not seriously”.

      I do nto know precisely what Trump actually means by any of these remarks.
      But I do know that he is to be taken seriously but not litterally.

      I have offered – I beleive correctly, that Trump has just sent a message to Arab nations that but for the palestinian people
      Gaza is incredibly valuable. Which it is.

      I highly doubt that is the ONLY message Trump is sending,
      But Trump has radically altered thinking regarding Gaza.
      he has sent a message to both the Arab nations propping up the Palestinians and to the Gazan’s

      You can choose terrorism war death and poverty or you can choose peace and great prosperity.

      By saying that the US might take Gaza, he has made the Saudi’s Jordanians, Egyptians ponder whether they should take Gaza
      He has also said that the palestinans are victims of their own stupidity.

      He has thoroughly defused the Gaza is an open air prison nonsense.

      All people are going to think of for a long time is Gaza as a potentially lavish mediterainian resort.
      Not Gaza as an open air prison or h3llhole.

  7. There are many good well-meaning federal employees at DOJ, but it’s long past due to officially apologize to the more than 40,000 innocent Americans blacklisted following 9/11.

    These innocent Americans (non-attorneys naive to the legal system) even went to the Justice Department to help and protect them from the post-9/11 blacklisting abuses.

    The most evil tactic was “Employment Tampering” apparently engineered by self-proclaimed Christian AG – John Ashcroft.

    When these innocent Americans were abandoned by DOJ, some became “Plaintiffs-Pro Se” (without attorney representing themselves) filing non-financial constitutional lawsuits against DOJ.

    Every federal Attorney General and every U.S. Attorney (federal prosecutors) swears a supreme loyalty oath – oath of office – not to prosecute and win cases but to uphold the constitutional rights of every American.

    John Ashcroft’s DOJ used taxpayer dollars to assemble “teams” of DOJ lawyers to bully these plaintifffs-pro se in court for the purpose of violating these citizens’ constitutional rights.

    In other words defenseless Americans (without attorneys) were bullied by a “Team” of America’s best attorneys at DOJ in order to violate constitutional rights! The highest disloyalty to the American oath of office.

    Most were good public servants with good intentions, but the bureaucratic system is broke and needs an overhaul. Pam Bondi owes Bush’s blacklisting victims a full public apology and Congress needs to reform this broken system!

  8. This all boils down to: THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE INDIVIDUAL.

    Private today we take no prisoners, but Lieutenant, no buts Private, just follow my orders.

    Willingly or not, you cannot shrug responsibility!

  9. I’d like everyone who is employed for a living, meet with your boss tomorrow and tell them “when you request information or data regarding our business I’ll decide whether or not I’ll give it to you”. Please come back and tell the blog you’re bosses response, that is if you’re still employed there? I think our government for a long time has been running like a Wild West town without a sheriff. I heard a proponent of USAID say something to the effect that if USAID was shut down some inhabitants of an African village wouldn’t get dental care. Does he have any idea how difficult it is for an American military veteran to get dental care from the VA? Please Elon press forward and thank you.

    1. Your analogy is flawed–King Donald cannot force government agencies to violate privacy laws by allowing an unelected campaign donor access to the records of the Treasury. They have forced access to, names, addresses, Social Security numbers, bank routing and account numbers, earnings histories, tax returns, etc, that are required, by law, to maintained securely. Recipients of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and all federal employees are required to receive payments via direct deposit. Who the hell are these people going through these records–and what law allows this? People who work for government agencies have the duty to maintain confidentiality of the sensitive information the government maintains on all of us. Their duty flows to us, the American people, not to King Donald, who cannot arbitrarily force them to allow access to data they are duty-bound to protect. And Real President Muskrat has no authority to send in his tech bros, consisting of teenagers and twenty somethings to paw through this data. Who knows if they copied it, if they’ll sell it, or in what hands it might land. This might be the biggest data breach in world history–and who is there to stop it? The dedicated public servants who took an oath to protect it. If you watched something other than MAGA media, you would understand this.

      1. There are no privacy laws being violated here.

        Musk and his staff are part of the Government, Because the president has givenr them access to this infomation – they have the same right as the IRS scheduler I talked to today who verified my AGI, my SS#, my address, the hospital I was born in , the maden name of my mother, the name of my father, …..

        This person was NOT the commisioner of the IRS, she was just a scheduling clerk. She had no security clearance – none of this is national security information.

        She is not allowed to share this information. But she has access to it.

        Musk and his people have been given access to information – though NOT the personal information of citizens but the actual expenditures of govenrment – they are NOT the same.

        But even if Musk was given access to the personal information you claim – that would be legal.
        Even if he was a private govenrment contractor – that would be legal.

        You are likely unaware that a DNC affiliated NGO was given access to the Cheynne Mountain NSA data on the american people that Snowden revealed the NSA was gathering. That was on DNC servers and one of the theories regarding the DNC hack is that is what the hackers were looking for. That is also why DNC panicked and brought in Crowdstrike.

        I am not sure what the DNC was doing with this access, but MY core point is that Govenrment contractors have access to the NSA data bases that trace cell calls, cell locations and lots and lots of other very sensitive data on people.

        But then again – google and apple have been gathering much the same information and have been selling it.

        The information that you are claiming Musk is breaching – which si NOT what he is getting,
        is also for sale from whatever credit agency you wish, Or you can find it for sale on the dark web. \

        “They have forced access to, names, addresses, Social Security numbers, bank routing and account numbers, earnings histories, tax returns, etc, that are required, by law, to maintained securely.”
        False – pretty much all arround.

        “Recipients of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and all federal employees are required to receive payments via direct deposit.”
        Nearly everyone paid by the federal governmnt is paid by direct deposit.
        The information on the systems that Musk is accessing are the TRN and ABA’s – the bank routing and account numbers.

        If you wish to know the actual information Musk is accessing – look up NACHA records – that describes in detail the information in electronic transfer records.

        Or if you have ever gone to a web site to make an EFT payment then you KNOW the information you had to enter.

        The identifying information is as follows:

        The name of the bank.
        The TRN of the Bank – that is the unique number assigned to that bank, it is called a Transit Routing Number
        The ABA – this is the bank account number of the recipient.
        The name of the recipient (which may be optional but is used to verify the ABA like the Bank name is used to verify the bank.
        an amount and a date.

        That is pretty much it.

        no address, no SS#, no phone number,

        “Who the hell are these people going through these records”

        U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization, is a temporary organization under the United States DOGE Service, formerly known as the United States Digital Service.
        Government employees.

        I would separately note that even government contractors can gain access to the same or even more information if they are autorized, and the president can authorize access to any Federal Govenrment information.

        “what law allows this?”
        The same law that allows federal contractors to search the NSA Cheyenne mountain data or IRS staff to access everything down to the hospital I was born at.

        I would separately note that ALL these records are electronically transmitted accross the US to banks accross the country.

        “People who work for government agencies have the duty to maintain confidentiality of the sensitive information the government maintains on all of us.”
        Correct – you are claiming that your privacy has been violated – but it has not.
        I would note that duty of confidentiallity is quite limited.
        Treasury sent ALL this information to the bank in order to pay you.
        The bank is NOT part of the government.

        “Their duty flows to us, the American people, not to King Donald, who cannot arbitrarily force them to allow access to data they are duty-bound to protect.”
        Nope,

        US constitution
        Article II Executive Branch
        Section 1 Function and Selection
        Clause 1 President’s Role
        The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.

        Any executive power of the US govenrment is a power of the president to be delegated as the president sees fit.
        All executive branch employees are answerable to the president. Any power they have comes from the president.
        If they beleive they have been asked to do something unlawful of unconstitutional they have a choice
        Resign and speak out, or do as the president asks.
        Read what Turley has said about Yates immoral and unethical conduct.
        No govenrment employee is obligated to follow an unconstitutional or unlawful order.
        But you can not run a country where each govenrment employee is free to decide what is an is not lawful or constitutional.
        When your judgement is at odds with the president – you can speak out publicly AFTER YOU RESIGN.
        There is only Do or Resign, there is no other choice.

        “Real President Muskrat has no authority to send in his tech bros,”
        If only Elon could be president.
        Alas he is not, and his authority comes SOLELY from the actual president.
        And yes he does have that authority.

        “consisting of teenagers and twenty somethings to paw through this data.”
        Just like the IRS scheduling clerk that I dealt with today.

        “Who knows if they copied it”
        They likely did – onto another govenrment server that they are doing their work on.

        “if they’ll sell it”
        That would be a crime – unless you are google or apple.
        “or in what hands it might land. ”
        The staff at DOGE that is all.

        “This might be the biggest data breach in world history–and who is there to stop it?”
        No data breach at all – government data being shared within the government at the order of the president is not a data breach.

        “The dedicated public servants who took an oath to protect it”

        This is the only oath that federal employee take.

        “I, AB, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”

        “If you watched something other than MAGA media, you would understand this.”
        What I understand is from the law and primarily the constitution.
        This has nothing to do with MAGA media.

        But it does have alot to do with not suffering from all the delusions that you do.

        The people who work for DOGE including Musk are govenrment employees.
        I am not sure that they are paid, but they are still actual govenrment employees and they take the same oath all government employees take that is specified in the constitution.

        They have the same obligations as other govenrment employees.
        Like all executive branch employees their “authority” comes exclusively from the president.
        The presidents authority comes from the law and the constitution.

        This is how it works for EVERYONE in govenrment – DOGE is no different.

        While DOGE is part of the federal government,
        Even if it was a private govenrment contractor – that would make little difference.
        Lots of incredibly sensitive data is available to government contractors.
        Any laws that apply to government employees apply to those within DOGE.

        You have gotten this wrong by the numbers – as is typical.

        But that is because you and those like Rep. Goldamn just make things up without thinking.

  10. Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction.

    That jurisdiction is set, or limited, by legislation.

    It is time for Congress to consider extensive limitations on the jurisdiction of the DC courts.

    The radical judges seem routinely to act more like far left politicians than actual neutral judges applying the law.

    The court excesses with the J6 prisoners stand as examples as does their interference with the executive branch of government.

    Prune, and maybe move, the DC courts now.

    I think those judges inside the beltway too often sup with the Devil.

  11. I agree, you can’t call out employees for following instructions, particularly given how young the likely suspects are. We can sure go after the head of the snake, though, and I LOVE all that is happening in that regard currently. Doxxing 20 year-olds who think they are just doing their job is inherently unjust, they have been exploited by people that knew better – let’s go after the older folks that led them astray over the past five-sixteen years in the first place, across the board (beginning with Obama stating that a bachelor’s degree was the ‘new high school diploma’) and with great, great vigor. 👍🏼 I personally love the hysteria from the modern left; it means we are on the correct track.

  12. “IT TAKES A VILLAGE”

    – Hillary Rodham Clinton
    _____________________________

    Sally Yates has been on the list for a very long time.
    _________________________________________________________

    “We are five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America.”

    – Barack Obama
    ___________________

    “We will stop him.”

    – Peter Strzok to FBI paramour Lisa Page
    _____________________________________________

    “[Obama] wants to know everything we’re doing.”

    – Lisa Page to FBI paramour Peter Strzok
    _____________________________________________

    “I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy’s office — that there’s no way he gets elected — but I’m afraid we can’t take that risk It’s like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before 40.”

    – Peter Strzok to FBI parmour Lisa Page
    ____________________________________________

    “People on the 7th floor to include Director are fired up about this [Trump] server.”

    – Bill Priestap
    _________________

    “I had a discussion with the case team and we believe there to be predication to include former President of the United States Donald J. Trump as a predicated subject.”

    – Timothy Thibault to John Crabb, U.S. Attorney’s Office, D.C.
    __________________________________________________________________

    The Obama Coup D’etat in America is the most egregious abuse of power and the most prodigious crime in American political history. The co-conspirators are:

    Kevin Clinesmith, Bill Taylor, Eric Ciaramella, Rosenstein, Mueller/Team, Andrew Weissmann,

    James Comey, Christopher Wray, McCabe, Strozk, Page, Laycock, Kadzic, Sally Yates,

    James Baker, Bruce Ohr, Nellie Ohr, Priestap, Kortan, Campbell, Sir Richard Dearlove,

    Christopher Steele, Simpson, Joseph Mifsud, Alexander Downer, Stefan “The Walrus” Halper,

    Azra Turk, Kerry, Hillary, Huma, Mills, Brennan, Gina Haspel, Clapper, Lerner, Farkas, Power,

    Lynch, Rice, Jarrett, Holder, Brazile, Sessions (patsy), Nadler, Schiff, Pelosi, Obama,

    Joe Biden, James E. Boasberg, Emmet Sullivan, Gen. Milley, George Soros, John McCain,

    Marc Elias, Igor Danchenko, Fiona Hill, Charles H. Dolan, Jake Sullivan, Strobe Talbot,

    Cody Shear, Victoria Nuland, Ray “Red Hat” Epps, Don Berlin, Kathy Ruemmler, Rodney Joffe,

    Paul Vixie, L. Jean Camp, Andrew Whitney, Lisa O. Monaco, Fani Willis, Alvin Bragg,

    Matthew Colangelo, Merrick Garland, Juan Merchan, et al.Timothy Thibault

  13. # Haven’t these people been replaced?

    Isn’t this an investigation of money – is it malfeasance? HS can order it or the DOJ?

    1. # it’s a rogue agency… They aren’t taking orders so it’s safe to say they’re still taking orders from dems. Self incriminating by action…

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  16. Jonathan: We are only in the third week of the DJT administration and it is already in chaos, lurching from crisis to crisis of its own making. Now it’s the crisis within the FBI. You say “Line FBI agents should not face punishment for carrying out the orders of their superiors or courts”. Then why is acting AG Emil Bove (who was once DJT’s personal attorney) demanding that NY Acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll turn over the names of 5,000 line FBI agents who worked on the Jan. 6 and other investigations of the crimes of DJT? It’s because Bove is carrying out DJT’s orders. He wants revenge and retribution against anyone who participated in those investigations.

    The dead give away is in Bove’s memo to Driscoll that states the “only individuals [in the FBI] who should be concerned…are those who acted with corrupt or partisan intent…or who exercised discretion in weaponizing the FBI”. FBI agents don’t operate with “corrupt or partisan intent”. They don’t volunteer for their assignments. Bove’s memo is an attempt to expose the names of FBI agent assigned to the two criminal investigations so they can be unlawfully targeted.

    What you omit is that convicted Jan. 6 insurrectionists are prompting the DJT’s investigation of FBI agents. Enrique Tarrio, serving 22 years in prison before he was pardoned by DJT, outed the name of the FBI agent testifying at his trial and has demanded she be prosecuted and jailed. Other Jan. 6 insurrectionists have called for the same actions. DJT and his private militias want revenge.

    What you also don’t mention is that it’s not just Driscoll who is resisting Bove’s demands. Two FBI organizations have just filed 2 class action lawsuits in federal court alleging DJT’s DOJ is violating the Administrative Procedure Act that requires due process in any investigation of a particular FBI agent, as well of violations Constitutional privacy rights and 1st Amendment rights. I would expect federal judges will soon issue TROs to prevent DJT’s revenge campaign. By the way it is not “insubordination” to disobey an unlawful order!

    1. What you don’t get is that yhe Constitution places executive power in the President, not agency employees.

      1. Wha’t so hard to understand that when a bill is passed by congress and signed by the President, a future president can’t just refuse to do it. The SC has ruled on this many times.

        1. It is far more complicated than that. Congress can not by passing law – even laws signed by past presidents restrict the constitutional power delegated exclusively to the president.

          “The SC has ruled on this many times.”

    2. Your assumption that no laws were broken in the J6 prosecutions is absurd. The Supreme Court ruled that Sarbanes-Oxley Section 1512 c could not be used to make trespassing a felony. Prosecutors used it as a threat in 300 cases and got 100 felony convictions. There’s probable cause from J6er accounts to suspect some FBI agents of falsifying evidence in some cases. Since Driscol refused to facilitate a top down investigation, Bove was forced to ask for names of all agents involved to do a bottom up investigation

      The fact that 5,000 agents were involved in J6 investigations shows a monumental misallocation of resources. It’s almost 40% of all agents. It’s grounds for termination of FBI managent itself, without the subsequent effort to cover it up with insubordination.

      “Nobody is above the law,” said Democrats. That includes FBI leadership and agents who broke the law to punish J6ers for their politics.

      1. When the violent J6ers beat and gassed police, they were just “expressing their politics”. What’s wrong with taking over the Capitol, to force Congress to cower? What’s wrong with supporting a non-violent coup?
        I didn’t want Biden to win. But, even more, I don’t want the Constitution to become just another venue for gaming-the-system.

        We have to at least agree on a common set of rules — the blueprint for settling conflicts peaceably. Give that up, and I guarantee you’ll hate what comes as a result.

        1. “When the violent J6ers beat and gassed police, they were just “expressing their politics”. What’s wrong with taking over the Capitol, to force Congress to cower? What’s wrong with supporting a non-violent coup?”

          Aparently you are unfamiliar with the video that has been released by Speaker McCarthy and then Johnson.

          The crown at the capital was peaceful and behing barricades until the CP officers at the west wing accidentally tear gassed themselves and then lobbed a CS teargas grenade into the peaceful crowd.
          Those fleeing the grenade in all directions pushed those arround them in concentric circuls – like ripples in a pond until those at the barricades were pushed through by those behind them fleeing the Tear gas. As they were pushed through the baricades CP officersstarted going at them with battons and rubber bullets. There is video of on CP officer beating repeatedly on Rose Boylan lifeless on the ground.
          There are others being beaten as they tried to pull people being beaten by the CP away from them.

          Without a doubt there were some whose conduct was not justified. But absent a true an honest accounting of events – which we did nto get at all until Speaker MacCarthy started the process of releasing the Capitol Video it was not possible to give any of these people a fair trial.

          Long ago the Supreme court rules that the prosecution can not withold excuplatory evidence from the defence – that is a violation of constitutional rights – and violating constitutional rights under color of law is a federal crime.

          Each and every J6r who was accused of violence is entitled to have ALL the evidence regarding their actions. Did they lash out at the CP on their own initiative – or after they were beaten or while they were trying to protect someone else from being beaten.

          On the whole the CP were actually well behaved – that is what we see from the 50,000+ hours od video. But we ALSO see that 99% of the J6rs were also well behaved, that they even got along with the CP in the capitol.

          Absolutely there were a few J6rs that were bad apples – and a few in the CP who were,
          There is video of a Few CP officers that is completely beyond the pale – but we were all denied that for 2+ years.

          In the end the evidence we have today shows that J6 was overall less violent than the June riot infront of the WH – there were slightly more officers injured at the WH,
          There were slightly more initial arrests. But none of those arrested for the riot at the WH were prosecuted. Why ? Because that is how we deal with the excercise of 1st amendment rights that gets out of control.

          “I didn’t want Biden to win. But, even more, I don’t want the Constitution to become just another venue for gaming-the-system.

          We have to at least agree on a common set of rules — the blueprint for settling conflicts peaceably. Give that up, and I guarantee you’ll hate what comes as a result.”

          We have – the constitution delegates to gongress and the state legislatures the responsibility and authority for making election laws. Those laws are required – because without them there is no reason to trust any election. 38 US states – including every 2020 swing state except NV have a state constitutional provision requiring secret ballots.

          Those constitutional amendments were passed to address the rampant election fraud in the 19th century -0 not that we have not had plenty of fraud in the 20th and 21st centuries.

          Regardless the requirements for secret ballots can not be met by mailin voting.
          Yet much of the country allowed Mailin voting in 2020 and oinly afew states have returned to follow their own laws and constitutions since.
          Prior to 2020 nearly every voting expert in the world agreeed that mailin voting could not be protected against large scale fraud. Experts on voting like Jimmy Carter. There is plenty of video of leading democrats – Pelosi, Obama saying that mailin voting was unaccentable and dangerous.

          But in 2020 despite constitutional amendments prohibiting it we did it anyway.

          You say we have to have a common set of rules – Agreed, we had those – until 2020,
          Then everytwhere were democrats had the power to do so – and all they needed was control of either the courts or the executive – they ignored the very election laws that had been previously passed – often through bipartisan agreement.

          Democrats proved they could not be trusted to follow the law. NOr could they be trusted to live up to agreements they made when they joined to enact these laws.

          If you can not trust that election laws are followed – then how do you trust election results ?

          If you do not understand why LOTS of people were furious about the 2020 election, then you are not someone that is capable of agreeing to play by the rules.

    3. “We are only in the third week of the DJT administration and it is already in chaos, lurching from crisis to crisis of its own making.”
      There are no crisis’s – except in your head, things are moving well and fast.
      Sorry your head is spinning and you can not keep up.
      But Trump is clearnly not demented, or tired or exhasuted or a lazy fat pig.

      “Now it’s the crisis within the FBI. You say “Line FBI agents should not face punishment for carrying out the orders of their superiors or courts”.”
      Turley’s statement is a bit overbroad – the Nruemburg established that “I was just following orders” is insufficient.
      Regardless, investigation is not punishment – it is how we establish who gave illegal orders what those orders were and whether they are sufficiently egregious to punish those who merely followed them.

      I would presume that if Director Comey order a line agent to kill a witness, that you would not only punish Comey but the line agent.

      Before you can know whether line agents were acting properly you have to know who they are and what they knew.

      “Then why is acting AG Emil Bove (who was once DJT’s personal attorney) demanding that NY Acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll turn over the names of 5,000 line FBI agents who worked on the Jan. 6 and other investigations of the crimes of DJT? It’s because Bove is carrying out DJT’s orders. He wants revenge and retribution against anyone who participated in those investigations.”
      No, Bove asked for a much more limited list and was denied. Please read Turley’s article.

      As Bondi said in her confirmation hearings – no one in govenrment will be prosecuted for following the law.

      “FBI agents don’t operate with “corrupt or partisan intent”.”
      Of course they do – do the names Strzok, Page, Orh, Comey, Kleinsmith, Baker, Theibault ring a bell ?

      “They don’t volunteer for their assignments.”
      Bzzt wrong, regardless, even if the line agents did not break the law, they may be (are) witnesses to crimes and Bove is entitled to their names.

      “Bove’s memo is an attempt to expose the names of FBI agent assigned to the two criminal investigations ”
      Correct.
      “so they can be unlawfully targeted.”
      Not if they did nothing wrong.
      This is an investigation.

      I know this is hard but we are not dealing red queen justice “No, no!’ said the Queen. `Sentence first–verdict afterwards.'”
      Bove is starting an investigation.

      There is ample basis for investigation – no prior protest has been dealt with this way, and we KNOW that the J6 defendants were denied due process and fair trials,
      that exculpatory evidence was witheld.
      From what is known publicly today the liability is with prosecutors and judges – who are nearly untouchable But can atleast be exposed and embarrassed.
      But the evidence of agents will be necescary to determine who if any should be punished and what those punishments should be.

      “What you omit is that convicted Jan. 6 insurrectionists are prompting the DJT’s investigation of FBI agents. ”
      No one was even charged with insurrection. But yes, people who beleive they were persecuted are demanding an investigation.

      Are you affraid of the truth ?
      Or do you beleive Trump will do what Garland did and seek to weaponize DOJ/FBI politically ?

      “Enrique Tarrio, serving 22 years in prison before he was pardoned by DJT”
      Tarrio was not in Washington on J6 – so exactly why did he receive a 22 year sentance ?
      Of course there is a reason to investigate – and you just proved it.

      “outed the name of the FBI agent testifying at his trial”
      Trial’s are public record.

      “and has demanded she be prosecuted and jailed.”
      He is free to demand that.
      In this administration and though all but the last 4 years of US history we investigate, and where there is sufficient basis indict, prosecute and convict. Tarrio’s claims are sufficient to trigger and investigation. They certainly have more substance than the Steele Dossier.

      “Other Jan. 6 insurrectionists have called for the same actions.”
      Good for them.
      “DJT and his private militias want revenge.”
      Trump is busy with other things.
      If Tarrio want srevenge that is fine. Tarrio is not in the DOJ or FBI or government – he can want whatever he wishes.
      Bondi and Patel have promised to follow the law.

      “What you also don’t mention is that it’s not just Driscoll who is resisting Bove’s demands. Two FBI organizations have just filed 2 class action lawsuits in federal court alleging DJT’s DOJ is violating the Administrative Procedure Act that requires due process in any investigation of a particular FBI agent, as well of violations Constitutional privacy rights and 1st Amendment rights. ”
      The APA is about how regulations are created. The rules for investigations and prosecutions are set by the constitution and case law.
      These agents are entitled to use whatever legal means they wish to forestall investigation.
      They will probably get favorable treatment by the DC courts – but the DC courts are likely to have to recuse themselves – we will see if they do.

      Regardless, requesting the names of agents involved is where things START. It is a perfectly legitimate request.
      It IS due process. I would further note that MOST of this information is available to Bove other ways.
      If the FBI refuses to provide the information , Bove can have staff pull the names of FBI agents from court transcripts and news reports.
      He can then interview agents – with a lawyer if they wish, and get the names of even more involved that way.

      This can go fast or it can go slow – but it will go forward.
      There is already ample evidence that J6 defendants were denied access to exculpatory evidence.
      That alone is more than sufficient basis for the investigation.

      “I would expect federal judges will soon issue TROs to prevent DJT’s revenge campaign.”
      You can characterize this however you wish – it is a legitimate investigation with far more than sufficient predicate to move forward.
      I have no idea what will happen in courts. The DC courts are required to recuse – the judges in DC participated in this and in atleast some instance have clear culpability – though breaching judicial immunity is near impossible.
      Regardless the DC courts must recuse. I suspect they will not – which will slowly kick this to the supreme court.
      Which will with near certainty order their recusal and we can start this all again.
      Meantime – you can NOT stop the investigation – it is properly predicated – far better than XFire huricane.

      This can go fast and those agents and attorney’s with culpability can be terminated, and a few possibly prosecuted,
      or it can go slow and this can be in the news cycles for the next 4 years. with constant drip drip drip of revalations of misconduct by those in govenrment – your choice.

      ” By the way it is not “insubordination” to disobey an unlawful order!”
      Actually it is. Your choices are obey or resign. There is not a third option – that gets you fired.

      I know this is hard for you left wing nuts – but there is no right to a job, there is no right to be an FBI agent.
      We do not generally fire people without cause – but in most of the country that is NOT required.
      It is a mistake to require cause. But refusing an order is cause.
      Those within the executive branch have the individual right as citizens to refuse what they beleive is an unlawful order.
      But institutionally they do NOT have the right to be the judge of that – only as individuals. That means you obey, you quit or you get fired.

      That is true whether the order is lawful or not, and most importantly it is true whether in YOUR OPINION the order is lawful or not.

      I have no problem with people quiting or threatening to quit over orders they beleive are unlawful.
      I would call that a profile in courage. But when you bet your career that your judgement is better than your superiors – you had better be right.
      The executive power of the United States is vested in the president – not individual FBI agents.

  18. How typically Turley-Murdoch–yeah, Trump is wrong for trying to take revenge on government employees who were assigned to work on his criminal cases and those of the January 6th insurrectionists he sent to disrupt Congress… but Sally Yates……. . Sorry, Turley, but you’re trying to sell Project 2025 as “reforms”, ignoring the fact that most Americans rejected Project 2025 and Trump lied about that truly being his agenda. So far, Project 2025 is being fully implemented just as written. The clown show Trump has brought to Washington is unprecedented–we have the wealthiest man in the world ordering around government officials, sending teenagers and twenty-somethings to paw through confidential data that requires security clearances they don’t qualify for. Today, news outlets are reporting that one of the Project 2025 minions who is really running our government, demanded the names of newly hired probationary CIA operatives. They were provided with a first name and last initial–and, they’ve been sending around this information via emails that were NOT encrypted. So, the Chinese or whatever culture they might have or will be insinuating themselves into can simply match up the first name with their last initial–and they will be outed, possibly killed. Senior CIA officials are dumbstruck at such a stupid move. Trump is all over the map–telling IRS employees they are unproductive and have to leave, offering a buyout (that may not even be legal–can the government use tax dollars to pay people NOT to do their jobs?), and today, rescinding resignations they demanded because these people are “essential”. He claims that the US will “own” Gaza and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East”, and now, White House Barbie says that’s not what he meant. Trump is trying to claim that Israel will give Gaza to the US. Gaza doesn’t belong to Israel, even though they have reduced it to rubble and have killed over 40,000 Palestinians–it’s still the homeland of the Palestinians and they aren’t going to leave. The rest of the Middle East stands with them, especially the biggest player of all–Saudi Arabia. Trump’s stupidity has now tanked efforts to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel–all of this turmoil without the remaining hostages being released–more Trump bad judgment. Saudi Arabia is demanding a 2-state solution. Trump thinks he can just roll over people and they’ll let him–he’s in for a sad awakening. Turley is paid to try to defend what Trump is doing–but it’s not working.

    As to the revenge tour, somehow Trump thinks that if he pardons the J6 insurrectionists he sent to prevent Biden’s victory from being certified, and since he, via his lying and using the money billionaires gave him to cheat his way into office, got his prosecutions dropped, and because he is firing DOJ prosecutors and FBI agents who worked on these cases, that he is now “vindicated”. Nope. Trump is criminal–always was–always will be. What he did to try to keep power he cheated to get in the first place was both morally wrong and criminal. So, he has once again cheated to get power–this time by lying about bringing down the cost of groceries–but that will never erase what he did. We saw what those losers who worship him did to our Capitol building–and, at the end of the day, it still didn’t work because Pence had the moral backbone to refuse to leave until Biden’s victory was certified. MAGA media, including Turley, try to pretend that charging Trump for inciting the insurrection via lying was “weaponization” of the justice system. It was not, but what Trump is doing IS weaponization. He already has gotten cheap stripper-haired Bondi to start the vengeance investigations.

    1. I do believe the majority of adult, thinking Americans disagree with you but, then, facts always confuse and negate progs so…there it is – failure for the progs. You just are too far into indoctrination and advanced TDS to comprehend the reality around you.

      1. OK, whimsical–what FACTS did I get wrong? What REALITY am I blind to? These are your conclusions—but what are the facts you rely on to accuse me of failure to comprehend “reality”? Did insurrectionists attack police officers, bludgeon them, break past barriers, smash doors and windows and enter the Capitol? Did my lying eyes deceive me? Was that conduct legal? Where in the Constitution does it say that a losing candidate can sic his fans on the Capitol to try to stop the certification of the winning candidate’s victory? Was prosecuting these people for these acts wrong because the prosecutions were solely “politically motivated”? So, should the DOJ have just given them a free pass? Does that mean becayse Trump sent them to stop Biden’s certification that all of this conduct is now legal? Is it proper to fire or intimidate people working at the DOJ and FBI for investigating and bringing these peole to justice? Can Donald Trump make all of this illegal and unprecedented conduct go away because he got into office again? What am I “confused” about? Where did you get the idea that “the majority of adult, thinking Americans” believe that the J6 insurrectionists were in the right and that prosecuting them was politically-motivated? I have yet to see any poll that says that most Americans approve of what the J6 insurrectionists did or that they should get a free pass. According to a YouGov poll, 78% of Americans disapprove of what they did. Do you have a poll that says otherwise?

        1. “what FACTS did I get wrong?”
          Prety mush all of them – check my other posts on this your errors are itrmized.
          But lets take some easy ones.

          DOGE is a legitmate govenrment agency – these are government employees who took the same oath as all government employees, and are operating on the orders of the president.

          No the information they are getting is not nearly what Google or Apple or the credit bureaus have on you and sell.
          Frankly DOGE is with near certainty going to filter out and ignore all the payments you are concerned about.
          There is nothing they can do regarding entitlements. They are looking for payments to businesses or contractors – or as they found in USAID kickbacks to congress critters.

          “Did insurrectionists attack police officers, bludgeon them, break past barriers, smash doors and windows and enter the Capitol?”
          No – insurection is a term of law, no one was charged with insurrection there was no insurrection.
          A tiny number of people attacked CP officers – some in self defense. CP officers also violated the rules of engagement.
          Some doors and windows were smashed. Entering the capital is legal while Congress is in session – the rights within the first amendment require it. Congress can not subvert the right to protest or petition government by thwarting access to the public.

          Regardless you have possibly 50 at most people who commited consequential crimes, and as a rule we severaly mitigate sentences for people engaged in political protests. Two NYC attorney’s who threw molatov cocktails into occupied olice cars get 18months probation – that is worse than the most egregious act on J6.

          ” Did my lying eyes deceive me? Was that conduct legal?”
          Most of the conduct on J6 was legal. Entering the capitol was legal. Petitioning govenrment was legal protesting the eleciton was legal.
          Thwarting peoples ability to do so was unconstitutional.

          ” Where in the Constitution does it say that a losing candidate can sic his fans on the Capitol to try to stop the certification of the winning candidate’s victory?”
          The first amendment. No a single first amendment right is condictioned on your, the government or anyone else’s beleif that those excercising those rights are correct. You may protest claiming an election is stolen even if it was not. Nazi’s are free to marh through the neighborhood of holocaust victims.

          This is the US. Not the USSR.

          “Was prosecuting these people for these acts wrong because the prosecutions were solely “politically motivated”?”
          I do not give a schiff about the motivation of anyone. The legitimacy or acts is based on the ACTS not the motivation.
          The motivation of the protestors has no impact on their right to protest.
          The motivation of the prosecutors has no impact on the legitimacy of their prosecution.

          But the mere fact that you continue to call J6 an insurrection -when it does not come anywhere near meeting the laws definition of insurrection is evidence of your disconnect from reality.

          At this time all J6 protestors should be pardoned – not commuted. Their rights were violated THEY did not get due process.
          You can not fix a corrupt prosecution. But HAD Doj don their job properly – possibly as many as 50 people who actually INITIATED violance should have been prosecuted. They should have had fair trials charged with crimes they actually committed – not star chamber procedings. They should have been provided with all exculpatory evidence, they should have been tried in the places they came from – by a jury of their actual peers – not those from a please that prejudged the case before the election. They should have had judges that followed the law.
          and they should have been sentenced as protestors everywhere in this country – with mitigated rather than incredibly agrevated sentences.

          There were more police injured at the June 2020 attack on the WH – about 100 people were jailed no one was prosecuted.
          That is how we deal with all but the most egregious behavior of protestors.

          When justice is not blind – the system is corrupt.

          Inarguably the J6 prosecutions were corrupt.

          The duty to blind justice rests with the govenrment – not the defendants.

          ” So, should the DOJ have just given them a free pass?”
          Actually pretty much yes, that is exactly what DOJ did with the June 2020 WH violent protestors, and the Kavanaugh hearing protestors,
          and an enormous percent of the protestors at the BLM ritos.

          Generally except for the most egregious offenses – whe arrest the few violent people AT THE PROTEST, jail them overnight and then release them and dismiss.

          “Does that mean becayse Trump sent them to stop Biden’s certification that all of this conduct is now legal? ”
          Their conduct is constitutional therefore it is legal. Trump, Biden do not matter. They were engaged in first amendment acts.

          it is the duty of GOVERNMENT to figure out how to allow those AND move forward with its responsibilities.
          There are innumerable choices government had – the one it did NOT have was thwarting the first amendment rights of protestors.
          That does not excuse violance – though I would note that you should read the declaration of independence – and think logically,
          There is no absolute bar to violence in response to corrupt acts of govenment – or this country would not exist.

          Regardless if you can not think of a way to respect the first amendment rights of protestors while still proceeding then you do not live in reality.
          And the duty to protect first amendment rights ALWAYS comes first – not last.

          “Is it proper to fire or intimidate people working at the DOJ and FBI for investigating and bringing these peole to justice? ”
          When those at DOJ and FBI violated due process – absolutely. We KNOW that exculpatory evidence was withoe4ld.
          That is beyond debate. The only question is how much MORE malfeasance their was.

          In the US you get due process – you get a fair trial with your constitutional rights protected or government has failed – possibly criminaly
          You get all those things if you are mother theresa or jack the ripper.

          If you do not understand that – you are in the wrong country.
          If you want the rules of a banana republic or the USSR or the EU – go there or change the US constitution.

          “can Donald Trump make all of this illegal and unprecedented conduct go away because he got into office again?”
          You have still not made the case that there was any such conduct.
          I think that what the majority of americans beleive regarding J6 is complicated and also not entirely relevant.

          DOJ – under Garland and under Bondi must follow the law and the constitution.
          J6 defendants were entitled to their constitutional rights – even if a few were guilty as sin.
          Those who participated in prosecutions that violated their rights are entitled to real due process – not what they gave J6’rs.
          I expect Bondi to follow the law and the constitution.

          “‘According to a YouGov poll, 78% of Americans disapprove of what they did.”
          I disapprove of your posts every day – does that mean you shoudl get 22years in jail ?

          Regardless though you have lost the public oppinion war – most disapporve of the political prosecutions too.
          And most people have doubts about the 2020 election – more all the time.
          There are still 8M democratic ballots that disappeared in the last 4 years. What happened.
          All answers do not lead to election fraud – but all answers are bad for democrats.

    3. Gigi,
      Insantiy is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome.

      This nonsense from you did not work before the election,
      Why do you think it will work now.

      Trump is following Agenda 47 the GOP platform that he crated – not some Heritgage playbook.
      What has he done that is not covered by Agenda 47 – have you even read it ?

      You keep ranting project 2025 – as if that is a magic incantation that would cause people thinking about supporting Trump to melt like the wicked witch of the west in the Wizard of Oz.

      Have you read Project 2025 or just head someone else malign it ?

      Regardless – people do not care – either they do not beleive you or they like what they are seeing and do not care if it is ”
      project 2025″

      I am absolutely certain that Aganeda 47 contains many things that are in project 2025.
      What matters is NOT the label, but that agenda 47 is not only the GOP 2024 platform – it is not some 80 page document – like the DNC platform or 900 pages like project 2025. It is one page. Further Trump has covered each item over and over during his campaign.
      So it was no secret what he was going to do.

      Past that You the left religiously spun the most egregious version possible of Trump. You turned end the weaponization of governmetn into target your political enemies – something YOU did.

      But no matter – either people did not beleive you.
      Or they did not care.

      As Bill Krystol wrote today – “we did this to ourselves” – YOU elected Trump.
      You have also empowered him.

      You claim he has no mandate – but you painted him as Hitler, you told us he would be a dictator, you told us he would be a fascist.
      You also tell us he is a stupid lazy fat pig who is unfit and suffering from dimensia

      Guess what he is running rings arround you and others 20 years younger.

      Regardless – you did this to your self.

      No one cares about you “Project 2025” claims – is this project 2025 ? Maybe. But it is absolutely what Trump promised.

      Or more accurately it is a fairly constrained version of what Trump promised.

      Or you could read Van Jones today

      Van Jones: Donald Trump Is Smarter Than All Of Us

      “Donald Trump is not an idiot. Donald Trump, let me be very clear, Donald Trump is smarter than me, you, and all his critics. Do you know why we know? Because he has the White House, the Senate, the House, and the popular vote, he has a massive media ecosystem bigger than the mainstream built around him and for him, and a religious fervor in a political movement around him. And he is best buddies with the richest person in the history of the world. And the most relevant Kennedy is with him.

      This dude is a phenomenon. He is the most powerful human on earth, and in our lifetime, and we’re supposed to be like, “Well how did this guy…?” We look like idiots.”

      Most every insult you level at Trump merely proves how stupid and disconnected from reality you are.

      Trump either won the election despite being impeached twice and indicted 96 times, and convicted by a NYC porosecutor, judge and Jury, and conducting an insurrection in 2020 YOUR version – which should give you pause. That strongly suggests Trump would have OBLITERATED you – but for each of those things. Or Trump won BECAUSE of all of the things that YOU did.

      Either way – he is FAR smarter than you. Frankly he is the smartest person in most any room.
      And if you have not yet figured that out – you are an idiot and better get used to losing.

      “Trump is wrong for trying to take revenge on government employees who were assigned to work on his criminal cases”
      If that were the case – you would be correct.
      Nut again Trump won DESPITE all this lawfare or because of it.
      If the latter – voters have ALREADY determined that punishment is necescary and that this is not about being assigned to work on these cases.

      Regardless, your still an idiot. So there were people assigned to work on this cases. WHO ASSIGNED THEM ? TODAY there remains no evidence meeting the constitutional requirements to open an investigation. Therefore whoever directed these investigations be opened at the very least violated the hatch act and likely committed a crime.

      Have you paid attention to the news ?

      Micheal Shellenberger is reporting – and there are on the recorrd sources – mostly from USAID, CIA and ODCCPR
      that the 2019 impeachment operation was directed by the CIA and USAID using Govenrment funds, and exactly the same processes and people that CAI uses to topple unfreindly foreign regimes.
      https://x.com/shellenberger/status/1887282174321152095/photo/1

      Much of the information is coming from the Whistleblowers OWN complaint. The whistleblower – a CIA analyst did NOT have access to the recording or transcript of Trump’s call with Zelensky – his source was a USAID orchestrated news story, by a USAID funded media outlet.

      This is an unbeleivably BIG deal. This is an ACTUAL coup attempt against a sitting president.

    4. Gigi, your comments seem to indicate that you don’t actually read Professor Turley’s blog content, beyond skimming a few lines. You also don’t seem to be acquainted with wrongdoing in the 3 letter agencies, or the results of various investigations into the weaponization of the federal government, and various state governments, against Donald Trump.

      It is impossible to determine whether the FBI leadership committed wrongdoing in its Jan 6 investigation, without investigating the actions of those in charge. If line agents are not impacted, and there is a factual determination of whether FBI leadership broke the law, then it’s justice, not revenge.

      Do you not want the FBI held accountable, or to follow the law?

      Democrats have accused Trump of weaponizing the federal government and trying to become a dictator, yet Trump is investigating the weaponization of government. Democrats are furious that their activities in 3 letter agencies, to turn the power of the government against political opponents, are being uncovered, and that the Democrat oligarchy might lose its unlawful power.

      It’s rather like how Trump was impeached for inquiring about Biden’s quid pro quo with Ukraine.

  19. It has taken the democrats decades to infiltrate and corrupt all levels of federal, state and local governments.
    While I hold the dems responsible for the grifts and crorruption, I hold more responsible the republicans who failed to stop this. Tail Gunner Joe was on to something and while the dems and their hold on the media allowed for him to be removed, his message was clear and the republicans failed to heed his warning and now this imbedded mess of socialist/progressive/communist vipers will take quite a heavy lift to disinfect our governments and media/education industry just for a start. The damage that has been done by creating mindsets that believe that they have a right to generational welfare, the students who have been indoctrinated in progressive ideology from K-12 and beyond in to universities, the apostate religious institutions that have been lulled into believing this BS rather than the Torah or the New Testament – these are the longterm damage that will take generations to clean out.

    1. @whimsicalmama

      Agreed, and it will take generations to fix – that was the idea. We’ll fix it though, Obama can bite me, whether they like it or not. Fathom that the inauguration was just over two weeks ago. Clearly, America is not going down without a fight, other Western countries can either find their courage or be damned. A world that works for everyone is not a world where classes hold other classes in bondage, and that’s what we avoided in November in the USA, Bernie Sanders fantasies of the USSR notwithstanding. Screw ’em! We will move on without them, if we maintain our momentum. Despite the media harping, thus far, nothing the current administration has done refutes law or the Constitution – they just hate it, absolutely hate it, when that works in favor of the electorate, and it is that simple. Robespierre 2.0.

      I’m beginning to wonder if the paid trolls here were funded by USAID, and if we might finally see them disappear. If we don’t, it is almost certain they are in one way or another funded by Soros Inc.

      1. Good catch, trolls funded by Samantha powers and USAID. Of course, and how much else?

  20. The FBI is just a police department. The irony drips. Defunding the police was a screaming talking point on the left and if any resistance occurred the label of fascist was bountifully applied to any who would complain. Now that the largest police department in the nation is being scrutinized the tale of the donkey turns to jump to its defense. You see, no one must be allowed to see the little balls of manure excreted from below the donkey’s tail. One can understand their actions when considering that they are only coming to the defense of a long time Democratic ally commonly known as the FBI. You can imagine Trump in a solemn meeting with the FBI brass saying, “How do ya like me now.” Right on!

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