What were once whispers in the corridors of the White House and Beltway discussing the possible demise of the FBI have grown into more mainstream conversations among administration insiders.
“The president is not happy with the Justice Department and he is not happy with the FBI director,” one high-level White House official said. “We’re all dealing with reality here that what happened with the FBI under (Robert) Mueller and (James) Comey. It might be a lost ship at this point.”
Talk in the Beltway of simply sacking the FBI as we know it today and starting over with a sleek, honest version of the once-elite law enforcement agency, is certainly now in the pipeline.
Trump professed recently he at some point will intervene to correct the wrongs of the Justice Department and FBI, if what he considers injustices against his White House continue.
A Rigged System – They don’t want to turn over Documents to Congress. What are they afraid of? Why so much redacting? Why such unequal “justice?” At some point I will have no choice but to use the powers granted to the Presidency and get involved!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 2, 2018
Almost daily a new FBI-related scandal emerges in the news. And it appears former and fired leaders like Andrew McCabe could be facing criminal charges. And Comey is not out of trouble either.
If either are indicted, expect a cascading toppling domino-like aftershock, where other FBI brass will be implicated as the Bureau’s embattled former chiefs scurry to make plea deals.
By ratting others out.
Now veteran federal law enforcement sources are sitting up and taking note as rumors swirl that the FBI — as we know it today — is in serious trouble..
The mere existence of such conversations among D.C. decision makers underscore the dire need for drastic measures.
One White House insider said chatter among decision makers emerged in recent weeks plotting the future for the FBI. The official said Wray could end up functioning more like a CEO downsizing a parent company, splintering FBI resources to other subsidiaries (agencies).
FBI’s counter-terrorism goes to Homeland Security.
FBI’s narcotics investigations goes to DEA.
FBI’s fugitive task force goes to U.S. Marshals and so on.
With President Donald Trump’s vast corporate background, this could serve as a sensible remedy to neutralizing the FBI’s bad actors. And boosting public confidence in federal law enforcement.
Radical times call for radical measures. But, when examined, gutting the bloated FBI isn’t such a silly endeavor. According to insiders, the nip and tuck could include:
- Cut the approx $9 billion FBI budget
- Implement accounting safeguards to allow lawmakers to quickly view ‘black budget’ Intel expenditures; RE: Fusion GPS, Steele
- Chop the current FBI up and move sects to Homeland Security, DEA, and other qualified law enforcement agencies.
- Re-assign problematic actors to roles with new agencies, away from their power base inside the FBI’s corrupted infrastructure.
In corporate board-room lingo, executives would call this a more “robust” FBI.
“In recent years there was serious talk of merging the FBI and DEA,” one law enforcement official said. “The quickest way to fix the FBI might be to reverse that type of approach, cut it up like a pie.”
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