The FBI is supposed to be a nonpolitical agency, although every FBI director chosen by every president was a Republican.
Over the past four years, the FBI was assigned the job of identifying and arresting those who planned and participated in the January 6, 2021, invasion of the U.S. Capitol. The mob was incited by Trump; its goal was to stop the certification of the 2020 election. The insurrection was an attempt to overthrow the Constitution and give Trump a position he lost in the 2020 elections.
The investigation of the January 6 insurrection was the largest in the history of the FBI.
Now Trump’s minions are asking FBI agents whether they were part on the investigation of January 6 or part of the investigation of Trump’s theft of classified documents.
Those who were will be fired because they can’t be trusted to faithfully execute Trump’s agenda.
Understand that the FBI agents who worked in these investigations were carrying out their duties. Understand that in no sane world is it right to send an angry mob to ransack the U.S. Capitol and to disrupt Congress in performing its prescribed duties.
Trump wants to rewrite history. He wants to make it official that the prosecution of the January 6 mob should never have happened. It was, he says, “a day of love.” The mob that beat up and bludgeoned police officers defending the Capitol and members of Congress were “patriots.”
Historians will ignore his lies. The criminal actions of Trump’s mob are well documented.
How can the FBI save itself from a mass purge?
Simple. Every single member of the FBI should sign a statement saying that they were part of the January 6 investigation. Every. Single. Member.
This is a true statement because who investigated the largest single attack in the Capitol were chosen at random. They were not there as volunteers or Trump-haters. They were there because FBI agents take their assignments seriously and execute them with fidelity.
To defend the FBI, sign your name. They can’t fire everyone. That might even offend the sombolent Republicans in Congress. Most were there on January 6. No matter what they say now, they know that their lives were in danger then. Will they sit by silently and let Trump eliminate the entire FBI? Not likely.
Their Trump obeisance must have limits.
Stand together. Sign your name.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
FECKLESS, HAND-WRINGING, PLATITUDE-PUSHING, DO-NOTHING DEMOCRATS
In The Guardian:
As Trump creates unprecedented chaos, Democrats have offered little more than platitudes – sparking comparisons to France’s collaborationist second world war regime
At the dawn of the second Trump presidency, defiance has given way to compliance.
While Donald Trump has rapidly and ruthlessly thrown the federal government into unprecedented chaos, the leaders of the Democratic party have offered up little more than limp banalities and platitudes. “Presidents come and presidents go. Through it all. God is still on the throne,” tweeted the House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, at the end of Trump’s first week in office.
Asked who was leading the caucus’s pushback, the Senate minority whip, Dick Durbin, told Semafor on 23 January: “I can’t answer that. Give us a little time.” Another senator said, “We’re obviously in a bit of disarray,” though Senate Democrats have arrayed themselves enough to provide bipartisan support for a number of Trump’s cabinet appointees.
For the leftists and liberals who had hoped to see the opposition party mount some kind of opposition to Trumpism, this spectacle of capitulation has inspired a new historical analogy, or at least a new insult. “La Résistance is dead. Welcome to Vichy France.”
“If you want an analogy for the present state of America it’s perhaps not an out-and-out fascist regime, but a Vichy regime,” wrote John Ganz, in a Substack newsletter on 21 January. “It’s partly fascist but mostly just a reactionary and defeatist catch-all. It’s a regime born of capitulation and of defeat: of the slow and then sudden collapse of the longstanding institutions of a great democracy whose defenders turned out to be senile and unable to cope with or understand modern politics.”
Ganz was not the first to invoke the collaborationist regime that administered part of France after its rapid and spectacular defeat by Germany at the beginning of the second world war. In November, after Joe Biden welcomed Trump back to the White House and promised a “smooth transition”, the political cartoonist Ted Rall reimagined their Oval Office meeting as an updated version of the infamous handshake between Adolf Hitler and Philippe Pétain that marked the fall of France’s Third Republic and rise of the Vichy era. “Unlike you fascists, we promise a smooth transition of power…to you fascists,” Biden/Pétain says to Trump/Hitler in the cartoon.
“Vichy Democrats” has become an increasingly popular expression of disgust with the feckless opposition party.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/31/vichy-france-trump-democrats
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“Asked who was leading the caucus’s pushback, the Senate minority whip, Dick Durbin, told Semafor on 23 January: “I can’t answer that. Give us a little time.” Another senator said, “We’re obviously in a bit of disarray,”
Yeah, how were they supposed to get organized when they only had three months of knowing for sure that Trump was going to be president and many months before that of knowing it was a very likely possibility? But, just give them more time, I’m sure they’ll do something. Some time.
Anyway, I tried to tell y’all….
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Did you warn us about Trump?
You warned us about Biden. You said he would be no different from Trump.
I miss him. He was a great President who revered the law and the Constitution.
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The democrats are taking action, from ABC news: A fiery group of about a dozen congressional Democrats blasted Elon Musk and President Donald Trump on Monday afternoon outside of USAID’s headquarters amid their attempts to shut down the overseas funding agency, claiming the rapidly unfolding events are causing chaos and harming national security.
The Democrats called the actions against USAID “illegal” and a “constitutional crisis” while vowing to take their defense of the agency to the courts.
“What Trump and Musk have done is not only wrong, it’s illegal,” said Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia during a news conference outside USAID headquarters. “USAID was established by an act of Congress, and it can only be disbanded by an act of Congress. Stopping this will require action by the courts and for Republicans to show up and show courage and stand up for our country.”
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Whoa. About a dozen. Out of 215 Democratic Representatives and 47 Democratic Senators. Be still my heart.
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“Anyway, I tried to tell y’all….”
WE tried to tell YOU! We were the ones who tried to warn this person about what Trump would do to this country and especially what Trump would do to trans kids that would NOT happen if a Democrat won. And this person wrote that she did not care whether Trump or the Democrat won. And now that she has clear proof that she was totally wrong and life under Republican rule is far worse, she still blames the Dems for not resisting enough??
What person here did not lift a finger to stop Trump? What person here kept normalizing Trump and pushing lies about how evil the Democrats were while defending Trump? When Dems were trying to use what power they had to limit Trump’s damage in his first term, what person was loudly opposing investigations of Trump’s ties with Russia and called the impeachment a “nothing burger” despite the overwhelming credible sworn testimony that hours of pro-Trump Republican questioning could not not dispute?
I read the Guardian article linked to above and saw an exaggerated portrayal of Dems as Vichy French: The Guardian writer bashes Bernie Sanders! “I suspect we can find common ground on some things,” said Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan, often cited as a future Democratic presidential candidate. “You have to look at the issues,” said Senator Bernie Sanders, the leftwing standard-bearer from Vermont. “It can’t simply be, ‘Oh, it’s a Trump idea, we oppose it.’” Really? The Guardian writer is comparing Bernie Sanders to Vichy France’s Marshall Petain for not resisting enough? Was it just an accident that the quote bashing Whitmer and Sanders as if they were collaborators with Trump was left out of the comment above?
It is absolutely clear that the Democrats are stronger opponents WHEN THEY HAVE POWER. I live in NY State where the Dems have enough consolidated power to be able to resist. I suggest this person look at what Democrat Leticia James said to NY hospitals ready to follow Trump’s anti-trans orders. She ordered them to resist. It’s much better to be a trans teen or young adult in NY State where Democrats have total control, than in a state where right wing Republicans are in control and will follow Trump’s orders. Choosing to vote knowing it would empower Trump and give Bernie Sanders LESS power and then criticizing Bernie for not resisting enough is outrageous.
But apparently, the logic here seems to be that if Democrats OUT OF POWER won’t lift a finger to stop terrible Trump actions, but Democrats WITH A LOT OF POWER do lift a finger to stop Trump’s terrible actions, that means there is no difference between Dems and Republicans and instead of voting to empower Dems, we should keep Dems from power because Trump is no worse.
Orwellian.
There is something unseemly in blaming the out of power Dems for “not stopping” the very thing you claimed was no worse than what Dems would do if they were in power. When the evidence is clear that those terrible things happen ONLY because Trump has power instead of the Democrats.
FYI – Hitler’s power did not happen because Vichy France didn’t stop him. Hitler’s power was given to him by all the German citizens who could not lift a finger to stop Hitler because they hated the opposition too and said Hitler was no worse. No German who didn’t lift a finger to stop Hitler should be scapegoating Vichy France and Marshal Philippe Pétain for “not stopping Hitler”. Same goes with Trump. No one who said they didn’t care if Trump or the Democrats won should be criticizing the Democrats for not resisting enough AFTER Trump got the power they didn’t care if Trump got.
If Leticia James and the Democrats had no power in NY and right wing Republicans had the Governorship, the legislature and the courts, it is possible that Dems “wouldn’t lift a finger” to stop the right wing Republicans. But since they WOULD stop it if they were in power, the logical action is to keep them in power, not try to defeat them because you are certain if they are out of power then they won’t lift a finger to stop far right takeover of the state.
Orwellian. Suicide as a political strategy.
We WARNED her. Trump won and it is clear that the places where Dems are defeated is where there is little resistance. The places where the Dems win big are where there is the MOST resistance.
Ask a trans kid whether they would rather be in NY or Texas under Trump.
Ask a trans kid whether it would have been better for Kamala to have won and Trump and Republicans to be soundly defeated.
Don’t forget to lecture trans youth about how you told them that Trump is no worse than Dems and they shouldn’t blame the very nice people who voted for Trump or said “they didn’t care” if Trump won. They should blame the Democrats. Because living in NY or Florida is no worse than living in Texas. Because Dems are no better than Trump. And it’s always their fault.
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Inauguration day was 15 days ago. The court system is the very first place to go to stop illegal actions taken by the govt.
On inauguration day three lawsuits were filed in DC federal court seeking to shut down DOGE until it complies with transparency rules for govtl advisory entities. Filed by (1)Public Citizen, the State Democracy Defenders Fund and the American Federation of Govt Employees [AFGE]. (2)Nat’l Security Counselors and Democracy Forward, and (3)Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. (4)A fourth lawsuit filed Monday by the Center for Biological Diversity seeks all records from the OMB relating to DOGE. (5) filed in fed court in DC to prevent DOGE from accessing the U.S. Treasury payment system, by the Alliance for Retired Americans, AFGE, & the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). (6) Jan 27th: civil action filed in US District Court DC by two Jane Does & all similar against OPM/ Trump admin, over allegedly collecting fed employee info and directing it to an employee of Musk. (7) Jan 27th: brought by Democracy Forward and a coalition of non-profit orgs, including the Nat’l Council of Nonprofits, Democracy Forward, the American Public Health Assn, Main Street Alliance and SAGE. Resulted in temporary restraining order (now extended) causing Trump admin to withdraw freeze Jan 29th.
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A lawsuit filed today by members of FBI
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TRUMP has been ignoring the injunction against the spending freeze and will continue to do so with impunity.
If you’ve noticed, Trump keeps a large portrait of President Andrew Jackson nearby in the Oval Office. When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Jackson’s plans to ignore the rights of Native Americans and take away their land, Jackson said in effect: “Well, the Supreme Court has ruled — the Court and what army will enforce it?”
And then Jackson forced the tribes off of their land and sent them to concentration camps on a death march that’s today known as “The Trail of Tears.”
Even Trump’s toadies on the Supreme Court today are of no importance to King Trump because he will ignore them just like Jackson did if they dare to rule against him, and the Court has no army…but Trump does
The Constitution is of no importance to Trump, except where it can be used to justify his actions. The Constitution has no army to enforce it, and neither do the courts. Trump is Jackson reincarnate.
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Another lawsuit signed by Doctors for America
Complaining about shutdown of CDC website and research
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YOU JUST DON’T GET IT — Trump doesn’t care about court rulings and injunctions. He will just ignore them.
Trump doesn’t even bother to shrug when his actions are challenged by a lawsuit because even if he loses the lawsuit, he will ignore it. He’s ignoring the twice-issued injunction against his spending freeze, just as he will ignore every other ruling that conflicts with his actions and objectives.
The courts have no enforcement power and rely on the federal Justice Department to perform the enforcement. Trump, America’s top enforcer and head of the Justice Department, won’t enforce any court order against him.
HAVE YOU NOTICED? — Trump keeps a large portrait of President Andrew Jackson nearby in the Oval Office. When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Jackson’s plans to ignore the rights of Native Americans and take away their land, Jackson said in effect: “Well, the Supreme Court has ruled — the Court and what army will enforce it?”
And then Jackson forced the tribes off of their land and sent them to concentration camps on a death march that’s today known as “The Trail of Tears.”
Even Trump’s toadies on the Supreme Court today are of no importance to King Trump because he will ignore them just like Jackson did if they dared to rule against him, and the Court has no army…but Trump does.
OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM HAS A FLAW: It relies on a President to be a lawful person. When the President is a scofflaw criminal, there is no justice enforcement, and there is rampant injustice.
Our Founding Fathers could never have imagined in their wildest vision that America would ever have a scofflaw criminal President. But that’s today’s reality, and it means that the courts are useless in dealing with Trump.
So, what is?
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For the reasons you stated, Quikwrit, Trump might run for a third term.
Who would stop him?
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Nothing and no one.
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Do FBI agents have any employment rights at all? I’m surprised if that’s the case. In most governmental organizations, the people at the top are subject to political appointment and removal, but most public employees have some rights in terms of a hearing, etc.
But yes, the FBI was used to harass Dr. M.L. King, peace groups, etc. We really should try to change that.
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Career civil servants have legal protection against arbitrary firing.
The only political appointee at the FBI is the Director.
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This is basically Trump’s Night of the Long Knives. I knew it could happen here, but I never thought it actually would.
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The Situation: What’s Going on at the FBI?
Benjamin Wittes
Monday, February 3, 2025, 6:38 PM
Share On:Share on FacebookShare on XShare on LinkedInShare on BlueSkyShare on ThreadsPrint this article
Don’t look now but the
FBI is resisting the political witch-hunt loosed upon it.
The Situation on Friday was too fluid to write responsibly on the ongoing purge at the FBI.
Things have clarified enough today to say one thing clearly: A lot of people at the bureau—leadership and street agents, analysts and staff alike—are flirting with heroism right now.
https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-situation–what-s-going-on-at-the-fbi
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Thanks, Kathy. I will use that Brookings newsletter.
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Banana Republic stuff.
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Putin’s end game.
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I saw Chris Christie say that it takes 18 months for a single agent to be ready for field work after being hired. I have seen estimates that 1/6 of all FBI agents worked on January 6. So that means there will be a huge hole in enforcement for about two years if they can immediately find 6000 applicants who qualify. That’s a big if. This all means that Trump and Musk can do whatever they want with no one to arrest them. This is the ultimate mob boss we are dealing with.
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The history of the FBI makes it hard for me to feel sorry for them. They were just following orders?
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Any chance The FBI could protect and serve The Education Department?
Someone pretending to be Trump or playing DJT’s puppet strings, has prepared orders to dismantle The Education Dept. Musk The Non Elected is using his DOGE probes on data bases housed at Education to make the case. Closing the agency would require congressional approval, so the new regime hopes to diminish it in the meantime.
That work is underway already. Musketeers has been trying to reduce the workforce by putting scores of employees on administrative leave and pressuring staff to voluntarily quit. And roughly 20 people with Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency,” known as DOGE, have begun working inside the Education Department, looking to cut spending and staff, according to three people familiar with the situation and records.
Washington Post 2/4/2025
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““Presidents come and presidents go. Through it all. God is still on the throne,” tweeted the House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, at the end of Trump’s first week in office.”
What the hell is that? Are you kidding me. No wonder the Rethugs do whatever they want, trampling the Constitution, abridging our rights. And this is their “leader”.
I hear that Newt Gingrich is dying of laughter.
The Dimocraps had three months to get it together enough to challenge this coup. Gonna be a case of “too little to late.” Like pissing on a raging wildfire to put it out.
Someone help me out. What the hell is “God is still on the throne” supposed to mean?
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Hakeem Jeffries wins the competition for worst comment of the year with that one.
I think he was saying “this too shall pass,” but that laid-back attitude is not what hopes for from the Democrats’ leader in the House.
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Nothing is going to pass without serious action by those in both parties. I don’t see that happening. I hope I’m wrong but. . . . . .
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“Sorry replies to unapproved posts are not allowed” Yee Ha ha ha ha!
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Good ol WordPress, eh, CBK?
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Meanwhile here is Dem lawmakers’ process so far:
Fri Jan 31: Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., demanded answers from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent today following a report that personnel affiliated with Elon Musk have sought access to a highly sensitive Treasury Department payment system. Text of letter here https://www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-news/wyden-demands-answers-following-report-of-musk-personnel-seeking-access-to-highly-sensitive-us-treasury-payments-system
Mon Feb 3:
Senate press conference on DOGE access to Treasury Payment System [Senators Schumer, Murray, Warren, Wydon, Schatz]. Democrats promise bill to block ‘unlawful meddling’ in Treasury systems.
Mon Feb 3:
Democrat lawmakers challenge Musk’s efforts to dismantle USAID: hour-long outdoor press conference at USAID building with Beyer, Van Hollen, Connally, et al, incl stirring speeches from Jamie Raskin and Ilhan Omar
Mon Feb 3:
https://democraticleader.house.gov/media/press-releases/dear-colleague-re-ongoing-house-democratic-caucus-activity
Dem leader Jeffries’ Dear Colleague letter to Dem caucus.
Excerpt: “First, I have made clear to House Republican leadership that any effort to steal taxpayer money from the American people, end Medicaid as we know it or defund programs important to everyday Americans, as contemplated by the illegal White House Office of Management and Budget order, must be choked off in the upcoming government funding bill, if not sooner.”
Translation: vows to use upcoming govt shutdown fight to combat Trump orders.
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TRUMP through Treasury Secretary Bessent gave DOGE permission to go to inner sanctum of Payments (trillions)
Democratic members of Congress barred from bldg
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