Home » Trump means business: Kash Patel is his pick for FBI director

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Trump means business: Kash Patel is his pick for FBI director — 87 Comments

  1. Yes, sounds like a very good pick to help “reform” the FBI.
    Bottom line still requires Congress to also reform the Civil Service laws restricting management control over the bureaucrats so malfeasance [and worse] can be removed quickly and with minimal (but legitimate) due process impediments.

  2. He has made very public comments in favor of releasing the Epstein files.
    Pay particular attention to Gates political contributions to Senators vs their vote on Patel’s confirmation.
    Maverick or money?

  3. ”That’s a reminder of how very important it was for the GOP to gain majority control of that legislative branch. Of course, it will also be vital that there not be too many GOP ‘mavericks’ in that august body, ready to oppose the nominations.”

    It seems most conservatives expect every Democrat to vote against every nominee. It was only a few presidents ago where that didn’t happen.

  4. Just as Trump had to overcome the margin of fraud, the more controversial nominees have to overcome the likely ‘no’ votes of Murkowski, Collins, and any other traitors among the RINOs that might emerge from the slime. Let’s see what kind of dirt the NYT can dig up about Patel to give them the excuse.

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  6. While I agree picking Patel will certainly “own the Dems”, I don’t see it benefitting the FBI or the country in the long haul?

    While reform may be necessary, an effective FBI director must have the confidence of both Congress and the American public. Patel’s deep alignment with Trump’s agenda and his history of sharp criticism of the agency could undermine bipartisan support and public trust in the FBI’s independence.

    Patel is best known as a highly partisan arctivitivist, such as defending Trump’s handling of classified materials, his dismissals of Russian election involvement, and challenging the FBI’s integrity. This background could intensify divisions within the agency and across political lines, making meaningful reform harder to achieve.

    A reform-minded leader with a history of impartiality, or at least less polarizing credentials, might be better positioned to overhaul the FBI without alienating key stakeholders.

    Critics of the FBI often focus on accountability, which is important. However, a director needs to balance such critiques with the ability to lead and improve the organization without dismantling its foundational trust.

    But let’s talk about these “deep state” conspirators and Russian “hoax” investigators that Trump continues to speak of and now wants to use highly partisan actors to lead his agencies.

    The Mar-a-Lago raid was conducted pursuant to a judicially authorized search warrant, part of a legal process overseen by courts and independent prosecutors. Labeling such actions as evidence of a “deep state” can undermine trust in the judicial process and the rule of law. It’s essential to hold government agencies accountable, but accountability should be based on evidence and due process, not partisan narratives.

    Multiple investigations, including the Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee, concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. While criticisms of certain elements of the FBI’s approach, such as the Steele dossier, are valid, the broader findings were independently verified. Sweeping claims of a “hoax” dismiss the credible work of many bipartisan investigators.

    The FBI plays a critical role in safeguarding national security, including countering foreign influence and domestic threats. People such as Patel, who criticizes and demeans the agency without evidence, while dismissing credible evidence of their own party’s wrongdoing with abandon, risks weakening its ability to perform its essential functions.

  7. I didn’t become active in politics until midterm after 911.

    Before coming here I had never paid any attention to the cabinet confirmation process. Amazing that such idiocy exists. It akin to an NFL head coach not being allowed to pick his own QB or Offensive coordinator without confirmation from other teams in the NFL.

    Only paid attention to the Supreme Court process…those were the Good ol’ Days

    Senate Confirmations Slow to a Crawl

    The official confirmation process takes almost three times as long now as it did during President Ronald Reagan’s administration. Throughout President Joe Biden’s administration confirmations have taken an average of about 192 days from the time they were officially submitted to the Senate until they were confirmed (as of Nov. 11, 2024). By contrast, during Reagan’s administration, the average confirmation took 69 days. These numbers include all civilian Senate-confirmed positions except for judges, marshals and U.S. attorneys.

  8. The American people voted for a Bureau that works, over the last thirty years or so, they have not worked terribly well, going back to the way, they burned the asset who was with the Sheikhs cell in Brooklyn,
    there was the other informant who gave up details about what would become the 9-11 plot, yet these were not followed up, the Phoenix Memo, about the hijackers,
    or the special privileges granted to Epstein, the way Banamex or HSBC laundered billions of dollars enabled terrorists, apparently without a single prosecution of any officer, the Enron raid was another exercise, in misdirection and skulduggery, on the part of Andrew Weissman, all of these bad pennies,
    who emerge again and again, the Chapman ring fell into the hand of the Bureau because Poteyev walked in, and Strzok claimed credit, giving him bonafides, about when he tried to frame General Flynn

  9. Wray said every agent who touched Crossfire Hurricane was referred to some kind of discipline.

    How far back or down will Patel go?

  10. I absolutely don’t like or trust the FBI, but RJW makes many great points.

    The Rule of Law rot is a lot deeper than just in Washington—Washington is just the ‘Tip of the Iceberg‘, IMHO. Decades ago—whilst outside a Miami Municipal Judge’s office, I heard a cop and the judge talking. This court handled misdemeanors, and the cop was wanting to punish the drunk more than the assault charge was going to give the drunk. The judge said he could add on another six-months if the drunk had had a knife on him. Conversation ended, cop exited, and I bet that drunk ended up having a knife in his pocket. (NOTE: don’t know why the cop was charging the drunk with a misdemeanor instead of a felony).

    Most of what has happened to Trump – mostly called “lawfare” here – most likely happens everyday across America to those much less able to defend themselves than Trump. This has gone on long before my overhearing that conversation in a Miami Municipal Judge’s office decades ago.

  11. no they weren’t as it was with the Sullivan reprimands in the Stevens case, a nasty bit of business, where they fired the Whistleblower and kept William Allen, a character as loathsome as Joel Greenberg, who they relied to defame Matt Gaetz,

    when has the Bureau come clean on anything specially in the recent past, as I noted it is not authorized by Congress except a broad reading of Title 28, now it was likely that some security organ like MI-5 or the DST would arise in this nation, but it was not inevitable,

    the Las Vegas shooting after 5 years they didn’t find a motive, curious, how about the body bomber plot, they found some junior contractor to cover for John Brennan it inspired my novel

    Closer to home in Miami, they employed some disreputable informants like Ricardo Morales, who seem to impress the likes of John Rothchild and Taylor Branch in the 70s, going after patriots like Orlando Bosch for things he himself did,

  12. RJW:

    “A reform-minded leader with a history of impartiality, or at least less polarizing credentials, might be better positioned to overhaul the FBI without alienating key stakeholders.”

    IOW, a business as usual squish. No thanks…hard pass.

  13. RJW

    The FBI plays a critical role in safeguarding national security, including countering foreign influence and domestic threats.

    Used to but hasn’t for a long time. Much like the Department of Education seemed to be a good idea or the Department of Energy being involved in regulating every device that consumes energy.

    Too much apologizing for a weaponized political enforcement agency.

  14. No one expects

    The Rule of Law!

    Just like no one expects laws to be complied with by most people every single day; not driving 80 miles an hour in a School Zone or running your own meth lab as examples. That Rule of Law is so inconvenient.

  15. Agreed with physicsguy, 9:58 a.m.

    Bipartisan support and public trust in the FBI’s independence are long gone, and these need to be re-established. Business as usual, as it has been in recent decades, won’t be enough.

  16. The root of the problem: administrative agencies that operate as if they are independent of the Executive branch of the Federal Government. They operate that way to serve themselves and the Democrats.

  17. If Patel is to make the FBI great again he needs to undo the HQ directed domestic intelligence structure FBI Director Mueller and Dep AG Comey put into place. The domestic intelligence orientation destroyed the respect and trust the FBI had previously earned. The USA needs neither an MI-5 or KGB but they gave us both. You can’t fix the CIA’s abuses of domestic intelligence operations by transferring the authority to the FBI with no check on their abuses.

  18. We notice Lil’ Jamie doesn’t mention his daddy being on the FBI counter-intel radar back when that daddy was an agent of the Soviets. But oh well, nevermind.

  19. Just watch on YouTube the many times Chris Wray – the present head of the FBI – testified before a congressional committee- to see first hand how corrupt the FBI is.
    He obfuscates, denies, refuses to answer and probably is dishonest etc etc.
    He refuses to answer the most basic questions, such as ” how many FBI agents were in the crowd on Jan 6 ?”
    When he promises to “get back to you” or to “get that info to you” the info requested never materializes.

    What is more upsetting is that the dumbpublicans let him get away with this (and other) bullshit.

    The FBI and the DOJ (as well as the CIA) are at the center of the law-fare policies to destroy any political opponent or activist that they are either told to target or simply choose to target.
    Wray, as well as Mayorkas, Garland , Fauci- and others – belong in prison for lying to congress and engaging in illegal activities.

    Anyone today who trusts the FBI or DOJ has their head way up their anal canal.

  20. well thats simply not done, but pepperidge farm remembers, the role of mark raskin, the former defense department staffer who helped found the institute for policy studies, the leading Soviet front group, I mean think tank, allegedly with money from Faberge eggs or so goes the story,
    they laundered Soviet passive measures like Phillip Agee’s operations against Western Intelligence

  21. Forgot to mention;

    why on earth has the FBI (or is it DOJ) not released all the files / data they have on the Epstein case??
    Clearly, they are hiding incriminating and/or highly embarrassing stuff for the benefit of prominent politicians or individuals.
    Are we to believe that the ONLY guilty party in the Epstein mess is Ghislaine Maxwell (who presently is in jail)??
    No need to mention the rather curious series of events that produced one dead Epstein.

  22. Echoing RJW, these jobs require more than cleaning house. It is easy to break everything. It is harder to make a functioning agency out of the ruins.

    Most of the responses to RJW point out how corrupt the agencies are. Yes, and? It is still necessary to do more than simply fire everyone.

    I hope Trump succeeds. I wish Bondi, Patel, and the rest of Trump’s nominees the best. This may the only chance we get. But I am not at all confident that this approach is going to work.

    Maybe Trump’s nominees will surprise me. I hope they do.

  23. they committed fraud against the people, they willfully pursued christian who were praying and seemed to ignore the whole Hamas network, that goes back to 1992, when CAIR and other brotherhood were getting underway, we saw the failure of that, since 2023, they don’t prosecute illegal border crossings or anything else,

    those who stand against enforcement of actual laws need to be punished those who enabled them like wise,

  24. C’mon, the FBI is not what it was under Hoover. We forget Comey, Strzok and others who have turned the Bureau into a political, not police, organization. “Fibbie” is the correct tag for an FBI “Special Agent” all too often.
    I regard it as equal to East Germany’s Staasi.

  25. Multiple investigations, including the Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee, concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. While criticisms of certain elements of the FBI’s approach, such as the Steele dossier, are valid, the broader findings were independently verified. Sweeping claims of a “hoax” dismiss the credible work of many bipartisan investigators. — RJW

    The above is so wrong.
    Sure, it’s been proven that Russia bought some Facebook ads or some other tinkering with election opinions. It’s not nothing, but close to it.

    However,… Calling the other portions a Russia “hoax” is an extreme minimization of the astonishing corruptions and frauds perpetrated by the DOJ and FBI. Then RJW implies that even the word “hoax” is overstating it.

    The NSA and its Stellar Wind project records everything of communication value on the internet. Those records are unseen by human eyes until a FISA warrant is obtained. That whole apparatus was knowingly subverted and directed against the Trump campaign in 2016. All of the warrant information was shown to be false. One of the “independent verifications” was later shown to be an unnamed source in a published article. When the source was revealed, it turned out to be an FBI informant who was violating FBI rules in the process, as well as being the opposite of “independent.”

  26. Swamp Things out in force today… this country got along fine for almost two hundred years without any FBI at all, much less a “functioning” one. They have forfeited our trust and they need to be held accountable, and eventually they can earn that trust back.

    Neither the FBI nor the DOJ is running air traffic control–and Reagan fired all of THEM. There is nothing they are doing that can’t wait, except Swamp stuff that only the Swamp wants. The Federal crimes the Swamp would have us believe they are protecting us from are mostly redundant to state law, or else stuff like “mail fraud”.

  27. @mkent:It seems most conservatives expect every Democrat to vote against every nominee.

    That’s because Dems are mostly Party of Government and GOP is mostly Party of Grift, though plenty of each have reciprocal membership in the other.

    The Party of Government wants to control the government, hence its tight discipline. The Party of Grift does well when the Party of Government is in charge; their cooperation has a price. But when the Party of Grift has the reins it is just not sure what to do.

    But Trump’s cabinet picks have ideas, so expect the Party of Government to close ranks against them, and the Party of Grift to help in exchange for appropriations.

  28. It may be harder to improve things but first you have to be willing to change things (and in this case break the current encrusted corruption) and not just go along with it, Bauxite.

  29. TommyJay, it is true that Russia’s efforts included measures like purchasing Facebook ads and other social media activity, which some may see as limited. However, the scope of interference extended beyond this. For example, Russian actors, including the IRA, carried out coordinated campaigns to sow discord and influence public opinion, while Russian intelligence agencies hacked Democratic DNC emails and leaked them to disrupt the election.

    Dismissing these actions as insignificant overlooks their broader implications for electoral integrity and democratic processes.

    Valid concerns about FISA warrant abuses, especially related to the Steele dossier, were highlighted in the 2019 report by DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz. The report detailed errors and omissions by FBI personnel in their applications to surveil Carter Page, including reliance on unverified claims from the Steele dossier. This has been a key point for critics of the FBI’s handling of the investigation.

    These errors are serious and require reform, but they do not invalidate the entirety of the Russian interference findings, as those were corroborated by multiple independent investigations.

    The suggestion that the NSA’s Stellar Wind program was subverted against the Trump campaign lacks publicly verified evidence. Stellar Wind, a surveillance program, operates within strict legal frameworks, and its records are generally inaccessible without appropriate legal authorization. While FISA abuses occurred, claims of systematic misuse of NSA resources against Trump remain unsubstantiated in publicly available documentation.

    Labeling the Russian interference investigation a “hoax” conflates valid criticisms of the FBI’s methods with the broader findings of Russian efforts to disrupt the election. Even conservative-led inquiries, like the Republican Senate Intelligence Committee report, confirmed Russian interference aimed at benefiting Trump, though they criticized some investigative tactics.

    While there were clear failings in parts of the FBI and DOJ’s approach, including the mishandling of FISA warrants, these do not negate the broader and well-documented evidence of Russian interference. Addressing abuses in the investigative process should go hand-in-hand with acknowledging the legitimate findings and working toward reforms that ensure both accountability and integrity in future investigations.

    The bigger picture however is the concerns that if appointed as FBI Director, Patel could be used by Trump to target political opponents under the guise of fulfilling Trump’s promise to prosecute the “enemy within” who he has publicly identified by name as his Democratic opponents. These concerns align with Patel’s past statements and actions, which suggest a strong alignment with Trump’s more combative political goals.

    Patel has openly supported aggressively targeting government officials and media figures he considers part of a “deep state,” even advocating legal actions against those for simply opposing Trump’s policies or challenge his narratives. His comments about prosecuting perceived conspirators in government and the media raise alarms about the potential for partisan misuse of the FBI under his leadership. These proposals are concerning because they could erode the agency’s reputation for impartiality and undermine trust in its ability to enforce the law without political bias.

    The concern isn’t just theoretical; appointing someone like Patel could shift the FBI’s focus from impartial law enforcement to pursuing political agendas. Given Patel’s lack of traditional qualifications for the role and his history of promoting partisan conspiracy theories, these worries are seen by some as a valid reflection of the risks his leadership could pose to democratic norms.

    While skepticism of media bias is valid, efforts to curtail journalistic freedom cross a line that should concern anyone committed to constitutional values. Conservatives and Republicans, like all Americans, have a vested interest in preserving a press that can freely report, investigate, and hold power accountable. This principle serves as a cornerstone of American democracy.

  30. . . . for simply opposing Trump’s policies or challenge his narratives.

    Lies. And you, therefore, are a liar.

  31. we haven’t had anything resembling a free press, in a long time, there is samizdat like the federalist, the tablet, daily caller, daily signal, there are accounts then on telegram now on twitter, but even the Journal has a very narrow gauge on what is actually going on, the Times and the Post even worse, they continue to lie to their readers, about the Mueller investigation, about events regarding January 6th,

    the Twitter files, handled by Shellenberger Taibbi and co, showed how much they redacted from the public record, on a whole host of topics, of course speaking ‘truth to power’ has been a lie ever since Woodward served as Felt’s amenuensis, he managed to pull this game for many of his subsequent books with Veil being among the most obvious David Ignatius a prince in waiting, had one good scoop about Robert Ames he parlayed into a book
    Agents of Innocence, which you have to read between the lines but he served as a similar sounding board for Comey for Brennan, those who have agendas financial as well as personal against the people,

    the Bureau deepsixed one of their best assets in the Russian mob because well they didn’t like what they told them, so many people have begun to take a real long look at those areas they considered settled,

  32. @RJW:His comments about prosecuting perceived conspirators in government and the media raise alarms about the potential for partisan misuse of the FBI under his leadership.

    Oh, how terrible it would be to live in a country where that goes on.

    they could erode the agency’s reputation for impartiality and undermine trust in its ability to enforce the law without political bias.

    Sir, that horse left the barn long ago, and it was the FBI and DOJ that let them out. About half this country, right now, does not believe that either FBI or DOJ are impartial or trustworthy, due to the actions that you are trying to assure us were completely aboveboard barring some “errors and ommisions”.

    According to a new poll by Harvard CAPS-Harris, 70% of respondents said that they were either very or somewhat concerned about interference by the FBI and other intelligence agencies in elections. Further, 71% agreed that changes post-2016 had not done enough to prevent further interference and that “wide-ranging” reform was still required.

    @RJW:efforts to curtail journalistic freedom

    You just hallucinated this. No one here said anything like this. No one in Trump’s administration is going to do anything like this.

    Get thee behind me, Swamp Thing.

  33. I look at what needs to be done to our federal agencies as like remodeling house.

    First you get a contractor in who knows how to assess what needs to be done. Sometimes it’s just cosmetic stuff – re-paint, fix minor flaws, replace some doors, etc.
    Sometimes you have to gut the place and practically rebuild it.
    Sometimes it’s something in between.

    As with any remodeling project you need people who know how to do it.
    Trump is a builder. I think he knows the type of people needed to do the job. And, believe me, no matter who his choices are, and no matter how well-mannered and acceptable to the left/MSM/Swamp, they will be resisted. It will take people with fortitude, energy, and goals in mind to overcome that resistance.

    While we would all hope for perfectly remodeled bureaucracies, we have to understand that Trump’s choices may only get a part of the job done. It’s a start.

    These agencies have many rank and file people who are jut working toward a pension. They are usually competent, non-ideological, and agreeable to go with the flow. If the top says no more political shenanigans, they will comply. Patel needs to identify and use these agents to help him rebuild the agency. He also needs to make sure the FBI is not recruiting woke prospects or using DEI in hiring. Refocusing on real crime would be a necessity. And I would hope he would move most of the agents out of DC to help Feral Prosecutors in their districts across the U.S. I believe Patel probably has such ideas.

    The FBI may be doing good work, but you would never know it if you watched Wray testify. He comes off as an enemy of the people. Patel may not be the perfect choice, but he will not be as arrogant and hidebound as Wray. I hope e’s got great remodeling talents.

  34. Many beneficial things are too much for which to hope. One is to reduce the character count of the federal penal code. Another is to re-calibrate the sentencing schedule and strip judges of discretion over sentencing. Another is to require preliminary hearings in front of a judge or magistrate (some with adversary process) before an indictment can be secured. Another is to put investigations and legal representation of the government in separate departments. Another is to debar U.S. Attorneys and their superordinates from initiating investigations or supervising them (as opposed to advising them). Another is a rotation-in-office rule for the Attorney-General, the division chiefs, the U.S. Attorneys, and lawyers working for them. Another is to have small, specialized investigatory services distributed over several cabinet departments. Another is to dramatically reduce the franchise of federal investigators to make use of agents provacateurs and to widen the scope of a defense of entrapment. Another is to institute a standing institution to harshly sanction misbehaving prosecutors and judges; no more unqualified immunity. Another is to limit the franchise to request technical assistance from federal agencies to state police. Another is to require U.S. Attorney’s offices et al to indemnify defendants for legal costs in fighting failed prosecutions.

  35. Used to but hasn’t for a long time.
    ==
    Agreed. If that were their object, they wouldn’t be wasting staff on capers like manufacturing the Whitmer kidnapping plot.
    ==
    You want to go back a generation, they sent a small army in 1992 to arrest a man for failure to appear in re proceedings on a charge of selling someone a sawed-off shotgun. The someone was a federal agent. In the course of this siege, they killed the man’s wife and one of his children.
    ==
    These people are vicious clowns.

  36. And RJW comes up with a stunning case of projection:

    “The concern isn’t just theoretical; appointing someone like Patel could shift the FBI’s focus from impartial law enforcement to pursuing political agendas.”

    As if the FBI’s focus has been entirely on “impartial law enforcement ” and NOT pursuing political agendas these past 8 years. LOL!!! What planet has RJW been living on?

  37. Patel’s job will be to re-focus the FBI on impartial law enforcement. Pretending that’s what it has been doing for the past eight years is delusional.

    There may be prosecutions of Democrats, but to restore credibility, these need to be for clear violations of law which would be prosecutable for anyone.

  38. he may have gotten a toxic dose of fishwrap, the local papers are nearly as useless,

    maybe some of those rioters who destroyed ten of millions of dollars of property, who cost lives maybe they can be prosecuted, with some of the new DAs, not Alvin Bragg sadly maybe there will be a more accurate counting of criminal malfeasance, how much has been spent prioritizing the delta house follies,
    January 6th, while every manner of miscreant has had their way in this country,

    and none of those people who think ‘white rage’ is the pressing issue of the day, can he trusted with policy implementation, they go over to the lawfare blog or some other foolishness,

  39. Labeling the Russian interference investigation a “hoax” conflates valid criticisms of the FBI’s methods with the broader findings of Russian efforts to disrupt the election. — RJW

    True about conflating, however an honest reading of the facts about “the FBI’s methods” goes way beyond “valid criticisms.” More like catastrophic corruption and fraud. Trump’s claims of “wiretapping” during the 2016 campaign, NSA head Adm. Rogers suspending the FBI’s access to the Stellar Wind database, and Rogers visiting Trump personally, all happened in the same time frame. Rogers needed to keep himself out of jail and couldn’t go public. RJW will believe what he wants, but I think those points speak loudly.

    In the second bite of the FISA warrant apple involved in surveilling the Trump campaign the independent verification was a Yahoo article trumpeting an anonymous source, who turned out a paid FBI informant, later suspended, once caught violating his FBI contract. That the FBI put that warrant together, that Rod Rosenstein OK’d it, and that the FISC judges OK’d it, that it surveilled a presidential campaign are an extreme scandal. An anonymous source in an online article?? It defies belief. And yet people like RJW will attempt to brush it off.

  40. impartial law enforcement

    That’s funny, Kate, and there must be a fancy word for such a phrase. 😉

    Unfortunately, right now the only pool for selecting Law Enforcement from is the human race. Robots are not there yet. One can look at this board and see that impartiality ain’t easy for us humans. Hold on, no Robotic Cops yet, but we do have AI:

    ChatGPT – can humans be impartial:

    Humans strive for impartiality in many contexts, such as in science, law, and ethics, but true impartiality can be challenging because of our inherent biases, emotions, and subjective experiences. These influences shape how we perceive and interpret the world, often subconsciously.

    Factors that Affect Impartiality:

    1) Cognitive Biases: Humans are prone to mental shortcuts like confirmation bias, anchoring, or stereotyping, which can skew judgment.

    2) Emotions: Feelings like empathy, anger, or fear can color decision-making, sometimes overriding rational thinking.

    3) Cultural and Social Influences: Our upbringing, societal norms, and cultural contexts shape our values and perspectives.

    4) Personal Experiences: Individual history and personal interests can make it hard to detach from one’s own viewpoint.

    Can Humans Be More Impartial?

    While perfect impartiality might not be achievable, humans can work toward reducing biases through:

    • Awareness: Recognizing personal biases and actively questioning them.

    • Education: Learning about diverse perspectives to broaden understanding.

    • Structured Decision-Making: Using standardized processes, like blind evaluations, to minimize subjective influence.

    • Reflection and Feedback: Regularly seeking and considering constructive criticism.

    For example, systems like the judicial process or scientific peer review are designed to help humans overcome individual biases, even if complete neutrality isn’t possible.

    I also asked ChatGPT – Can Trump be impartial to Ukraine. One doesn’t need AI for that answer tho, but the long answer was summed up thusly:

    In conclusion, while impartiality is possible in theory, Trump’s track record suggests that his approach to Ukraine is shaped by a mix of personal preferences, political considerations, and geopolitical strategy, making true neutrality challenging.

  41. ”As if the FBI’s focus has been entirely on ‘impartial law enforcement’ and NOT pursuing political agendas these past 8 years.”

    To a Democrat, supporting the Democrats’ agenda IS ‘impartial law enforcement.’ NOT supporting the Democrats’ agenda is ‘pursuing a political agenda.’

    That attitude is everywhere. Years back I was on a site dedicated to space exploration when a member went on a profanity-laden tirade against George W. Bush’s tax cuts. When I calmly (without threats, profanity, or name-calling) responded explaining how the tax-cut legislation didn’t work like he said it did, my post was deleted and I was banned. His and he remained.

    When I contacted the host, he pointed to the rule which said “No politics.” When I responded that I was merely responding to politics which he let stay, he replied that, no, a profanity-laden tirade against George W. Bush was just common decency. *Supporting* George W. Bush was politics.

    Such is the way of the Democratic Party cult.

  42. I think he will be a good pick but will have his hands full getting rid of anyone who wanted Jan6ers to be arrested.

  43. Lots of passionate comments here, on both sides. I can remain neutral regarding the FBI AFTER they tell us who planted the pipe bombs at the Republican and Democrat headquarters in D.C. Until then, no deal.

  44. Somehow he doesn’t look rageful or wrathful.

    According to the playbook, though, one’s opponents are always angry, enraged, emotional, and one is always supremely rational oneself.

  45. If you have nothing to hide, a little sunshine can be liberating. Are there any career Agency operatives who think things have gotten out of hand, and are ready to whistle blow? We can only hope. Someone ordered Crossfire Hurricane. And there were multiple opportunities to quash the Steele Dossier before it went white hot.

  46. That really was an excellent effort!
    The last paragraph, alas, gives the game away:

    …While skepticism of media bias is valid, efforts to curtail journalistic freedom cross a line that should concern anyone committed to constitutional values. Conservatives and Republicans, like all Americans, have a vested interest in preserving a press that can freely report, investigate, and hold power accountable. This principle serves as a cornerstone of American democracy.

    Yes, high marks for the right tone and earnest, measured, balanced, rational-sounding arguments (even when—ESPECIALLY WHEN—they’re false, e.g., that rather clever “Russian Interference” gambit)…but I’m afraid you’ll have to try a bit harder.
    Nice try, though. Really!

  47. Cruz: ‘Very Strong Nominee’ Kash Patel Will Be Confirmed by the Senate

    Listen, I think Kash Patel is a very strong nominee. I think the entire slate of Cabinet nominees President Trump has put forward is very strong. I believe every one of these Cabinet nominees is going to be confirmed by the Senate. I think Kash Patel is going to be confirmed by the Senate. You look at his background, he has a serious professional background. He was a prosecutor, he was a public defender. He was a senior intelligence staffer on Capitol Hill. He was a senior intelligence staffer in the White House. He was the Chief of Staff of the Department of Defense. He was the deputy director of national intelligence. And I got to say, all of the weeping and gnashing of teeth, all of the people pulling their hair out, are exactly the people who are dismayed about having a real reformer come into the FBI and clean out the corrupted partisans who sadly have burrowed into senior career positions at the FBI.

  48. RJW sez: “…appointing someone like Patel could shift the FBI’s focus from impartial law enforcement to pursuing political agendas…”.

    Pretty much what the Eff Bee Eye has been doing for years and years.

    Sorry, RJW. I don’t have ANY faith or trust in ANY Federal Agency, which of course includes the F.B.I.

    These were the tools and fools who got all those children in Waco burned to death.

    Our very own Gestapo.

  49. Might be just the time for a little humor…
    “ Harris Campaign’s Continued Money Woes Causing Big Headaches for Democrats”—
    https://legalinsurrection.com/2024/12/harris-campaigns-continued-money-woes-causing-big-headaches-for-democrats/
    Key grafs:

    …But the fundraising appeals have still continued, and some Democrats fear she may be compounding the party’s problems with the tone of some of her appeals — damaging relationships with online donors who have long powered the party.
    […]
    “I understand that the Harris campaign is in a very difficult position with the debt that they have, and so sometimes you just have to make practical decisions,” said Mike Nellis, founder of the Democratic digital firm Authentic, whose clients include top Democratic House and Senate candidates. ”But yeah, I think that stuff like that erodes trust.”
    [Emphasis mine; Barry M.]

  50. The next Democrat candidate for Prez is going to have some ‘splaining to do before donors just take out their checkbooks and start writing checks.

    Depending on how one counts, the Harris campaign outspent Trump by two or three to one. And still lost everything.

    –The Beatles, “Can’t Buy Me Love”
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srwxJUXPHvE

  51. Even Joe Biden thinks the DOJ is politicized and unfairly prosecuted his son, which is why he pardoned him, according to his statement:

    No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son – and that is wrong. There has been an effort to break Hunter – who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me – and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough.

    So who’s undermining the DOJ’S “reputation for impartiality and… trust in its ability to enforce the law without political bias”, which RJW was so concerned about?

  52. Why, um, yes, I believe so….
    – – – – – –
    In any event, Merrick Garland, Jack Smith, Juan Merchan, Tanya Chutkan, Alvin Bragg, Letitia James and all those other earnest “The law applies to all” types must be rolling on the floor laughing their Uber-corrupt heads off…

  53. Related—Hunter finally hits the jackpot!
    “Hunter’s Lawyer Moves To Dismiss Indictment After Pardon”—
    https://www.zerohedge.com/political/enough-enough-biden-pardons-hunter-unfair-prosecution-his-own-doj

    File under: That’s Entertainment!

    – – – – – – –
    And…in the “ensure accountability and integrity” department…
    ‘Doc Drops COVID Truth Bombs: “Everything Was A Lie From The Beginning…”‘
    https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/doc-drops-covid-truth-bombs-everything-was-lie-beginning

    Well, at least we now know—officially—why Pfizer needed (and demanded) that 75 year moratorium…

  54. @Barry Meislin: Hunter finally hits the jackpot!

    He’s been pardoned for everything Federal he might ever have been involved with over an 11-year span, not just what’s he been charged or convicted of.

  55. No more taxes!!
    Forever!!!
    He can—finally—throw away the paint brushes!!
    Forget about payments on his fancy cars!!
    And I would guess he doesn’t have to pay child support anymore, either!!

    O! Lucky Man…

    Cue: “Happy Days Are Here Again!”

  56. Good Old, Pres. “Joey Biden” is going to pardon Hunter Biden’s crimes.

    Not a big surprise.

    In my view: Joe kind of had to.

    It is likely-
    Hunter made his dirty millions, aka his corrupt millions of dollars…off of Ukraine’s companies, with the help of his: [Vice President, and later…President, Dad].

    If Joe had let Hunter’s convictions stand, then those convicted crimes could be traced back to JOE as well, + then they BOTH could face years in prison.

    Well, well, well, well……”friendly, honest, and average-guy”…JOE, couldn’t let THAT happen.

    Goodness me.

    How shameful.

    Goodbye and Good Riddance, Joe Biden. As a President, you were a rotten apple.

  57. A few memes appropriate to the post.
    “If Joe had let Hunter’s convictions stand, then those convicted crimes could be traced back to JOE as well, + then they BOTH could face years in prison.”

    Hunter Biden.
    https://accordingtohoyt.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/gdztyrcweaayic2.png

    Joe and the Deep State.
    https://accordingtohoyt.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/gdzkou-xcaao9po.png

    Trump’s nominations in re the Deep state.
    https://accordingtohoyt.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/468831247_9439058699459925_1260113818194368747_n.png

  58. Another pundit speaks truth to has-been power, who only has two months left to ruin the country.
    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/12/01/hunter-pardon-lets-joe-biden-cover-up-his-own-alleged-influence-peddling-crimes/

    While President Biden focused on his son’s conviction for gun crimes, and his son responded with a statement about addiction, the reality is that the pardon covers more serious conduct: selling U.S. foreign policy for monetary gain.

    The pardon covers actions between January 1, 2014, and December 1, 2024. Hunter Biden’s appointment to the board of the corrupt Ukrainian gas company Burisma was announced in May 2014. Reporters and State Department staff immediately flagged the appointment as a potential conflict of interest, given that then-Vice President Joe Biden was in charge of the Obama-Biden administration’s foreign policy in Ukraine (which is likely why Hunter was appointed).

    The Obama White House repeatedly ducked questions on the topic, and journalists let it go. Bureaucrats who tried to find answers from the Vice President’s office were ignored or told Joe Biden was busy mourning his other son, Beau.

    Joe Biden was directly implicated in his son’s role in Ukraine — especially when evidence emerged on his son’s laptop in 2020 that then-Vice President Biden had met with one of Hunter’s Burisma associates. That exposed Joe Biden’s repeated claims to have had nothing to do with his son’s business interests as a lie. More importantly, it exposed the fact that Biden may have been an accomplice in his son’s knowing refusal to register as a foreign agent for Ukraine.

    Hunter Biden had a variety of other foreign business associations in which his father was also involved. Pardoning Hunter Biden for actions dating back to January 1, 2014, not only protects Hunter, but President Joe Biden as well.

    Ironically, Democrats impeached then-President Donald Trump in 2019 for asking Ukraine to investigate the Bidens for crimes that Biden has now pardoned his son for committing. Trump was acquitted, and is now fully vindicated.

  59. @ MEO > “Before this goes farther, by whom is RJW mployed?”

    FOAF may be correct about the proximate troll placement bureau, but I wonder if one can truly characterize an obvious AI “writer” as employed.
    Deployed, maybe.

    The style is unmistakable.
    At least Neo’s former trolls, like Montage and Manju, sounded like human beings.

  60. @ Skip > “My guess is lots of Jan6 evidence will go missing and can be presumably destroyed on Jan19”

    The Democrats & their friends are well-versed in wiping things with a rag.

    Time to shorten the transition from nearly 3 months to 3 days, and insist the laggard states figure out how to count their ballots on Election Day.

    Having a couple of months to contest the 2020 election didn’t help Trump any.
    We learned that the hard work had to be done before and during the voting.

    Of course, an earth-shattering discovery after the new president is installed (save the inauguration parties until later if you want) can still be grounds for voiding the election and starting over.
    The government can handle itself for a while on auto-pilot, like it does every
    time Congress goes through the theater ritual of “shutting down” during budget fights.

  61. Something to keep in mind when the Regime Media tries to gaslight the public about Trump’s nominees, priorities, plans, and character —
    Elon Musk channels Murray Gell-Mann’s Amnesia Syndrome:

    https://accordingtohoyt.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/468612068_978334407662698_4164533268845344675_n.png

    Question: After Trump’s inauguration, the Regime Media will no longer speak for the resident regime, so I will need a new insulting moniker for them.
    Any suggestions?

  62. AesopFan: “After Trump’s inauguration, the Regime Media will no longer speak for the resident regime, so I will need a new insulting moniker for them.
    Any suggestions?”

    Ancien régime media

  63. AF, yeah I was thinking ChatAI, too, actually, or partially so—if one can do that sort of thing “partially”….

    (A bit too well-crafted…except for the platitudinous, boilerplate style and glaring inconsistencies…)

    + Bonus (some of Hunter’s more endearing qualities—from a former victim who maybe shouldn’t be surprised if he gets a knock on the door by a SWAT team early in the early a.m….):

    ‘Sequoia’s Shaun Maguire: “Absolute Shit Bag” Hunter Biden Owes His Family $300k In Back Rent’—
    https://www.zerohedge.com/political/sequoias-shaun-maguire-claims-absolute-shit-bag-hunter-biden-owes-his-family-300k-back

    File under: “THAT’S me boy!!”

  64. If Joe had let Hunter’s convictions stand, then those convicted crimes could be traced back to JOE as well, + then they BOTH could face years in prison.

    Joe hasn’t pardoned himself or his brother (yet). And Hunter can’t take the 5th if he’s questioned about their crimes, so they are not out of the woods. Also, I wonder if Hunter could be on the hook for any state-level crimes, such as Georgia and New York managed to contrive to go after Trump.

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