FBI Director Warns Against Controversial Trump Plan Impacting Law Enforcement

  • 3 months ago
FBI Director Warns Against Controversial Trump Plan Impacting Law Enforcement

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00:00And you're familiar with Project 2025, are you not?
00:05I mean, I've seen, you know, news reports about it.
00:08I'm not particularly familiar with it.
00:10You're aware that it is a game plan for President Trump's first 120 days in office, correct?
00:19I'm really not familiar with the details. I've seen reporting about it.
00:23It is. And what he proposes to do is to force the FBI director to report directly to him.
00:33That's what he wants to do within the first 120 days.
00:37He also wants to eliminate the position of FBI General Counsel.
00:42That is also set forth in Project 2025. How would you recommend that?
00:48I think the FBI's Office of General Counsel serves an incredibly important role, including in terms of advising our workforce.
00:57We have 38,000 people. The idea of having an organization like ours, an independent law enforcement agency like ours,
01:04that doesn't have its own general counsel's office doesn't make sense to me.
01:08Well, it would seem like any proposal that would force the director to report to the president
01:17and then there would be no legal counsel for the director of the FBI.
01:25That seems like it's an attempt to neuter the FBI and render it accountable only to the president.
01:36Isn't that correct?
01:37Well, let me put it this way. I recognize that the FBI director, this FBI director and every FBI director before me,
01:46serves at the pleasure of the president. And that's part of our system.
01:51I was appointed by President Trump. I respect that. I think that's a part of our structure.
01:59But independence in terms of how we do our work is what matters to me.
02:03And we need to be able to do our work in a way that is free from political interference.
02:07Well, you wouldn't be able to do that by reporting everything you do to the president
02:11and getting his authority and approval before you take action, correct?
02:16I don't think that would be a wise approach.
02:19And then there's even a proposal to replace many of those 38,000 dedicated civil servants who work for the FBI,
02:30replace them with a MAGA group that has pledged its allegiance to Donald Trump.
02:39What danger would that bring to the FBI if that were to happen?
02:43Well, again, I haven't read or reviewed this thing that you're referring to.
02:47Assuming what I say is true.
02:49But the FBI is made up of 38,000 dedicated career law enforcement professionals.
02:57It has no political appointees of any kind unless you count me as a nominee of a former president.
03:02You don't want that to change either, do you?
03:03I don't think that should change.
03:04You don't want a bunch of MAGA loyalists being the employees of the FBI.
03:10We're coming up on 116 years of the FBI, and that's the way it has been for 116 years.
03:15It would be crazy to take 38,000 MAGA loyalists and put them at the FBI. That's frightening.
03:23That's what Project 2025 proposes, and I'm glad to know that you are not with that program.
03:31And with that, I yield back.

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