As I read the news about the transition between the Biden Administration and the incoming Trump Administration, I can’t help but be distressed that the FBI is at the forefront of discussions about reform and corruption.
I retired from the FBI in 2000. I experienced five changes in Presidential administrations during my FBI career. During that time, the FBI enjoyed a stellar reputation among the American public. There were never any words like “reform” or systemic “corruption” mentioned about the FBI during my career. Sure, as in any profession, a few FBI Agents did some illegal acts, but they were caught and severely punished. In public polls of the most respected professions, the FBI ranked at the top percentages along with the military, judiciary, clergy, health care professionals, and charitable organizations. Among federal agencies, the FBI was always top-rated in public opinion polls. The FBI and NASA usually traded the top ranking for agencies with the lowest turnover and the highest employee satisfaction.
The most enduring, positive legacy of J. Edgar Hoover’s tenure as FBI Director was that he built an independent and apolitical law enforcement agency. During Hoover’s administration, you could not use political influence to get a job, transfer, or promotion within the FBI. Politics stopped at Hoover’s desk. There were abuses of power during Hoover’s tenure, but the apolitical foundation of the FBI stayed intact.
That legacy and the stellar FBI reputation among the American public changed when President Obama appointed James Comey as FBI Director. Comey’s leadership of the Hillary Clinton investigation involving the handling of classified information was a travesty of justice. In addition, the genesis of the Trump/Russia collusion investigation was fraught with the use of information from patently questionable, biased sources and the omission of pertinent facts for electronic surveillance on Trump campaign aides. Comey let his disdain for President Trump negatively affect his legal judgment and oath of office. James Comey was the worst Director in the FBI’s history.
Now, President Trump has nominated Kash Patel as Director of the FBI. Critics of Patel say he is antithetical to Hoover’s legacy of the FBI being an apolitical agency. According to the New Republic, “Patel doesn’t literally call his list, which appears as an appendix in Government Gangsters, an enemies list; more blandly, he calls it “Members of the Executive Branch Deep State.” But “deep state,” in the context of Trumpworld grievance, is no neutral term. In the book, Patel calls the deep state “a cabal of unelected tyrants” and “the most dangerous threat to our democracy.” Also consider the book’s title, and that in introducing the list Patel apologizes for omitting “other corrupt actors of the first order.” It’s an enemies list.”
ABC News reported that “In December 2023, during an appearance on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast, Kash Patel.., expressed intentions to target journalists and government officials in a potential second Trump administration. Patel stated, ‘We will go out and find the conspirators—not just in government, but in the media… We’re going to come after you whether it’s criminally or civilly; we’ll figure that out.’
Patel has the requisite background and experience to be a good FBI Director. However, he must prove to rank-and-file FBI Agents that he will stand up to any political influence in the FBI. Whether or not Patel can regain or reinstitute the stellar reputation of the FBI remains to be seen. I can only hope for the sake of protecting the United States from enemies foreign and domestic, he can.
