‘Am I the next person?’: Former Pence staffer and Trump critic on retribution fears

CNN

Former Homeland Security official Olivia Troye speaks to CNN's Laura Coates about whether she fears retribution for criticizing President Donald Trump.  #CNN #News  # news #breaking #24x7

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00:00If President Trump's claim of mortgage fraud against Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa

00:04Cook sounds familiar, it's because he's used this kind of playbook before on his perceived

00:09political enemies.

00:11He's accused New York Attorney General Tish James and California Democratic Senator Adam

00:15Schiff of mortgage fraud, both denying any wrongdoing, just like Cook, of course, does

00:21as well.

00:22And Trump was asked about his motivation here.

00:24Was he just digging around for dirt against people he doesn't like?

00:31No, they're public.

00:32I mean, you can find out those records.

00:34You can go check out the records yourself, and you should be doing that job, actually.

00:38You wouldn't do that because that's not the kind of reporter you are, but you should be

00:42doing that job.

00:43I shouldn't have to be doing it.

00:44If you did your job properly, we wouldn't have problems like Lisa Cook.

00:49Trump says it's not retribution at all.

00:53You should just ask vocal critics like John Bolton.

00:56The FBI searched his home last Friday as they relaunched an investigation into whether he

01:01revealed classified information for his 2020 book.

01:05That hasn't stopped Bolton from calling out Trump publicly, because just today he called

01:09Trump's Ukraine policy incoherent in an op-ed for the Washington Examiner.

01:14With me now, former Homeland Security and counterterrorism advisor to Vice President Mike Pence,

01:18Olivia Troy, who has been a frequent outspoken critic of the president as well.

01:24Olivia, it's good to see you.

01:25Now, you've of course heard the president saying he's not weaponizing or retribution or anything

01:30like that.

01:31But when you see what happened to Bolton and others, can you believe him?

01:34No.

01:35I think he's absolutely doing what he said he would do.

01:38He ran on a campaign of retribution, and I think we're seeing it come to fruition now.

01:44I mean, what happened to Bolton, he was a critic.

01:47He was talking about his feelings on Putin and Ukraine, which I agree with Bolton.

01:52I've been out there criticizing what happened in this summit in Alaska and everything, but

01:56I think this is all par for the course and the plan.

01:59And I think when we see what's happening to Bolton, I think there's been executive orders

02:02on Miles Taylor, Chris Krebs.

02:05There's been a lot of these things that have been public propaganda, so to speak, from the

02:08White House.

02:09But I think on Friday, that was really truly crossing the line.

02:13It must be hard not to feel anxious given the fact that you have been an outspoken critic,

02:20as many others have as well.

02:23You've spoken out about the danger, the extremism aspect of it.

02:27What is life like for somebody who has criticized Trump today?

02:31I mean, I certainly think about, well, am I next?

02:36You know, am I the next person that they're going to knock on the door on?

02:38What does that look like for me and my family?

02:40What do I need to prepare for that situation?

02:43Watching it unfold on Friday, I was horrified for John Bolton and his family, trying to figure

02:47out what was happening.

02:49And I was concerned, because I think it's also, it sends a sign and a chilling effect,

02:53right?

02:54It is really about silencing critics.

02:55And it is a sort of an effect of, well, am I next?

02:59What's going to happen?

03:00And I think for people that are watching, too, what does it mean for them?

03:02I mean, you know, Friday, it was John Bolton.

03:05And you may not agree with his politics or foreign policy.

03:08But tomorrow, it could be a journalist, it could be you, it could be me.

03:11It could be actually any American citizen or person out there who criticizes the president.

03:17That is why this is so dangerous.

03:18I think this is very authoritarian-like.

03:20It's something that I warned about.

03:22And it is horrible to watch it play out.

03:25I mean, this is something, you know, I went to Kash Patel's confirmation hearing with Judge

03:30William Webster, who recently passed.

03:32And the reason we were there in person is because we were concerned that the Bureau would be used

03:38in such a manner, that would be a political vengeance force for Donald Trump.

03:43And Friday showed that that is the direction that this is going in.

03:47It doesn't end with discussions about critics who are vocal, who are on television and beyond.

03:51There have been those even were learning that there's 180 FEMA officials that sent to Congress

03:56a letter that warned the agency is being gutted and could be very ill-prepared in the future

04:01for a natural disaster.

04:03And some of those staffers who signed that letter have been placed on leave now.

04:09What is the harm and risk that is coming if there is a chilling effect even in that degree

04:14to issues outside of politics, like natural disasters?

04:16Yeah, I have been very concerned about what we're seeing in our public service ranks.

04:21I'm concerned about what they're doing to the intelligence community.

04:24They're revoking clearances.

04:25They're firing people.

04:26They're just fired the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, which I served under along

04:30the way for his assessments.

04:33The analysts did assessments on the Iranian strikes, right?

04:36And Trump didn't like that.

04:36So now we have FEMA staffers warning.

04:39And the thing is, what they're warning about are things that are going to affect all Americans,

04:43regardless of your politics.

04:44They're warning that they're concerned that we could have a Katrina-like disaster again because

04:49we're unprepared.

04:50We don't have the resources.

04:51The agency is being gutted.

04:53And resources are being pulled away to other distractions.

04:56Either it's the border or other things.

04:58And so what they're saying is, we are concerned that there is going to be a natural disaster.

05:03And we are regressing back to what happened in Hurricane Katrina.

05:06I was there on the ground in the aftermath.

05:07And I can tell you that the destruction of what happened there was horrific.

05:12And that was part of the reason that there was a lot of work in the aftermath to make sure

05:16that we wouldn't go back to that again.

05:17We have a series on CNN talking about the 20 years since Hurricane Katrina.

05:21Really profound to remember those moments.

05:24I did release a statement saying, quote, it is not surprising that some of the same bureaucrats

05:28who presided over decades of inefficiency are now objecting to reform.

05:32Change is always hard.

05:34It is especially for those invested in the status quo who have forgotten that their duty

05:38is to the American people, not entrenched bureaucracy, unquote.

05:44Olivia, thank you.

05:45Olivia, thank you.

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