Donald Trump was all over the place at his rally in Missouri last week, blasting political enemies at every opportunity — even those who have passed away — and making still more outlandish claims about his presidency. But one segment of his speech in particular stood out to veterans of law enforcement in America, because he attacked them directly in an unprecedented and, frankly, unpatriotic way.
During the portion of his monologue in which he was delivering the obligatory insults against Democratic Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill, Trump expounded on his thoughts on the “swamp,” as he calls it, in Washington, DC. He went on the attack against the FBI, who he has long felt are not loyal to him, even gauging how “good” they are by whether or not they support him. And those that don’t?
Look what’s being exposed at the Department of Justice and the FBI. You have some real bad ones. You see what’s happening at the FBI — they’re all gone, they’re all gone. But there’s a lingering stench and we’re going to get rid of that too.”
But over the weekend, the FBI Agents Association, which boasts a membership of more than 14,000 active and former Bureau agents, issued a strong defense of its personnel and methodology:
As we have said, Attacks on our character and demeaning comments about the FBI will not deter Agents from continuing to do what we have always done—dedicate our lives to protecting the American people.”
As we have said, Attacks on our character and demeaning comments about the FBI will not deter Agents from continuing to do what we have always done—dedicate our lives to protecting the American people. https://t.co/HwOnBBkd20
— FBI Agents Assoc. (@FBIAgentsAssoc) September 22, 2018
The tweet was accompanied by a link to a press release from the FBIAA that emphasized the organization’s professionalism and results.
The entire flap comes amid speculation that a story leaked to the New York Times — claiming Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein privately spoke out against Trump — was actually planted by someone in the administration as a ruse to create a justification for the President to fire him.
Featured image via screen capture
