David emphasizes how the regulations governing a counterintelligence investigation focus on the activity of the foreign power. Yeah, sure. But that’s why the Times story was so explosive. It reported on a counterintelligence investigation of Trump himself, who is obviously not a foreigner, but the duly elected president of the United States.
The Times story says that the FBI feared Trump might have been a witting or unwitting agent of the Russians. I’ll come back to witting, but what does an unwitting asset of Russia even mean? It sounds to me like someone who is foolishly giving cover to Vladimir Putin and inclined — even if he doesn’t usually follow through — to favor policies congenial to Russia’s interests. This is all bad and I oppose it (while welcoming all the measures Trump has taken that aren’t congenial to Russia’s interests). But what is this, at bottom, other than having flawed instincts toward Russia, which is Trump’s perfect right? I’m guessing I agree with Lisa Page’s basic view of Russia more than Trump’s, and I believe she should get a chance to act on those views just as soon as she, too, is elected president of the United States.
The proximate cause of the FBI investigation, if the Times reporting is correct, wasn’t any new information about Russia’s activity. It was Trump acting entirely within his powers to fire his FBI director. This might be the first time that a FBI counterintelligence investigation was triggered by a lawful domestic action. This is crazy. Perhaps you believe that Trump’s firing of Comey was ill-intentioned and abusive. That’s a reasonable view, but it is Congress’s job to take this up, not the job of a subordinate law-enforcement agency within the executive branch. The regulations David cites say nothing about the FBI starting a counterintelligence investigation of a president acting pursuant to his legitimate powers.
When Did It Become the FBI’s Job to Act as a Check and Balance to the President?
The Times story says that the FBI feared Trump might have been a witting or unwitting agent of the Russians. I’ll come back to witting, but what does an unwitting asset of Russia even mean? It sounds to me like someone who is foolishly giving cover to Vladimir Putin and inclined — even if he doesn’t usually follow through — to favor policies congenial to Russia’s interests. This is all bad and I oppose it (while welcoming all the measures Trump has taken that aren’t congenial to Russia’s interests). But what is this, at bottom, other than having flawed instincts toward Russia, which is Trump’s perfect right? I’m guessing I agree with Lisa Page’s basic view of Russia more than Trump’s, and I believe she should get a chance to act on those views just as soon as she, too, is elected president of the United States.
The proximate cause of the FBI investigation, if the Times reporting is correct, wasn’t any new information about Russia’s activity. It was Trump acting entirely within his powers to fire his FBI director. This might be the first time that a FBI counterintelligence investigation was triggered by a lawful domestic action. This is crazy. Perhaps you believe that Trump’s firing of Comey was ill-intentioned and abusive. That’s a reasonable view, but it is Congress’s job to take this up, not the job of a subordinate law-enforcement agency within the executive branch. The regulations David cites say nothing about the FBI starting a counterintelligence investigation of a president acting pursuant to his legitimate powers.
When Did It Become the FBI’s Job to Act as a Check and Balance to the President?
