Each symbol and color in the FBI seal has special significance. The dominant blue field of the seal and the scales on the shield represent justice. The endless circle of 13 stars denotes unity of purpose as exemplified by the original 13 states. The laurel leaf has, since early civilization, symbolized academic honors, distinction, and fame. The significance of the red and white parallel stripes lies in their colors. Red traditionally stands for courage, valor, strength, while white conveys cleanliness, light, truth, and peace. As in the American flag, the red bars exceed the white by one. The motto, “Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity,” succinctly describes the motivating force behind the men and women of the FBI.
Fidelity and Bravery – yes! But what about integrity? Some say that the FBI has been corrupt and too powerful from the very beginning.
J. Edgar Hoover served as the first director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. During his lengthy tenure as the director of the FBI, he was responsible for modernizing the FBI and transforming it into a huge and large-scale agency against crime. However, many believe that the strategies he employed for this purpose were illegal and wrong. There is a large amount of evidence concerning his abuse of power. He often exceeded his constitutional authority, and he utilized his power to harass the politicians and civil leaders deemed to be his opponents. He collected and maintained secret files on them, and he utilized these files and documents for threatening and intimidating sitting American presidents.
Is this FBI abuse of power happening once again, and if so, is the abuse being applied selectively, against one political party? We hate to say it, but it seems so to us. Equal justice under the law – it is so important to our democratic society, is it not? Let’s take a look.
We do know that Kevin Clinesmith pleaded guilty in August 2020 to deliberately fabricating evidence in a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant application. This warrant was used to spy on Carter Page, who was then a campaign affiliate of then Presidential candidate Donald Trump. Mr. Clinesmith was no lowly FBI office worker. He was a top attorney in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Office of General Counsel (OGC) and a key agency attorney under (fired) former FBI Director James Comey. This is, or should, be shocking. What we had here was the FBI spying, first on Presidential candidate Donald Trump, and then sitting President Trump. Shades of J. Edgar!
We do know that President Trump’s advisors Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro were arrested and charged with Contempt of Congress. In contrast, we know that former President Obama’s Attorney General, Eric Holder, and that Lois Lerner, former Director of the Internal Revenue Service, were never arrested and criminally charged with Contempt of Congress.
Then there is the sensational FBI raid of the home of former President Trump by thirty or so armed FBI agents. Was it necessary? At the time of the raid, there were serious legal questions as to its necessity. According to the Trump counsel, the former president was given an earlier subpoena and complied with it, and then he voluntarily gave the FBI access to a storage area and agreed to add a specified lock on the room. It is not clear why a second subpoena would not have sufficed if there were other covered material under the Presidential Records Act.
Subsequent to the raid, the Department of Justice opposed even the most modest disclosures from the court, but the DOJ and the FBI were certainly willing to leak serious allegations, including that the FBI was looking for sensitive classified information, and even nuclear bomb codes! According to famed Constitutional expert Jonathan Turley, the government steadily leaked details to its own advantage. It undermined the credibility of the government and raised questions of the motivations behind the absolute secrecy claims. “It is litigation by leak where the government prevents others (including the target) from seeing key representations made to the court while releasing selective facts to its own advantage. It shows utter contempt for the court and the public.”
What’s the upshot of all this? A Big Fat Nothing Burger! According to the liberal Washington Post, “Federal agents and prosecutors have come to believe former president Donald Trump’s motive for allegedly taking and keeping classified documents was largely his ego and a desire to hold onto the materials as trophies or mementoes, according to people familiar with the matter.”
“That review has not found any apparent business advantage to the types of classified information in Trump’s possession, these people said. FBI interviews with witnesses so far, they said, also do not point to any nefarious effort by Trump to leverage, sell or use the government secrets. Instead, the former president was motivated by a more basic desire not to give up what he believed was his property, these people said.” In addition, “the FBI did not find any nuclear bomb codes.”
“The people familiar with the matter cautioned that the investigation is ongoing, that no final determinations have been made, and that it is possible additional information could emerge that changes investigator’s understanding of Trump’s motivations. But they said the evidence collected over a period of months indicates the primary explanation for potentially criminal conduct was Trump’s ego and intransigence.” Exactly, if you want to charge the former president criminally, you need criminal intent, and it does not exist here.
Compare this armed FBI raid to what happened to former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, who gathered and transmitted classified, including top secret, information as Secretary of State. (We note that no one has charged former President Trump with transmitting classified and secret information). She and her staff have also been criticized for allegedly destroying evidence for which they were under legal order to save and produce to Congressional investigators. What happened to her? Again, nothing. Then FBI Director James Comey declared that “although there is evidence of potential violations of the statutes regarding the handling of classified information, our judgment is that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case.”
“No reasonable prosecutor.” I guess that rule doesn’t apply to Trump.
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