Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Maryland, on CNN on Sunday criticized President-elect Donald Trump's choice of Kash Patel to head the FBI, saying the FBI is being used as a weapon against a political party. He said he had seen no “evidence” that there was.
President Trump announced on Saturday that he plans to nominate Patel to replace current FBI Director Christopher Wray, whom he appointed during his first term. and contribute to stopping evil.” The scourge of cross-border human and drug trafficking. ” On “State of the Union,” guest host Casey Hunt began by asking Raskin about his reaction to Trump’s election.
“Well, Christopher Wray is, of course, a Republican appointed by the Republican Party, as he said. But apparently he's not a good candidate for the job for Donald Trump, who wants a more personal ally in the position.” He seemed to have shown too much independence and objectivity in that, and that's why he went to Kash Patel,” Raskin said.
Mr. Hunt then interrupted the Democratic lawmaker to ask whether he thought there was “any problem” within the FBI under its current leadership, something Mr. Raskin did not deny historically. He insisted there was no current evidence that one political party was being targeted. It lists the Democrats who have been indicted by the federal government. (Related: Senate slams FBI, Department of Homeland Security over failed testimony)
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“Historically, for example, during the Cohen-Terpro era, the FBI was actually given weapons against Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement and the peace movement. The FBI was basically used as a political tool. “There's been an interesting book about J. Edgar Hoover by Beverly Gage that people can read about,” Raskin said.
“I have yet to see any evidence that the FBI has been used as a weapon against a political party or against the Department of Justice, which, of course, is being used by Democratic U.S. senators from New Jersey and Democratic U.S. senators from Texas Some people seem to think it should only go one way, but if it doesn't, it's somehow politicized. I think that's what we mean when we talk about it,” Raskin added. “So the deep state, no one has ever defined it. Apparently it just means someone who doesn't carry out Donald Trump's will.”
Wray faced increasing backlash after the first assassination attempt on President Trump at a Pennsylvania rally on July 13, amid a decline in American attitudes toward the FBI and the Department of Justice (DOJ). In a House Judiciary Committee hearing after the attack, Wray said: said “As for former President Trump, there are questions as to whether it was a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear,” the lawmakers said.
Republicans have long criticized the FBI director for alleged “political bias” in investigations like the Hunter Biden one, and Republican Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley criticized Wray and Merrick Garland in a July 2022 letter. He requested information from the Attorney General. The letter followed complaints from two insiders. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has accused the Justice Department of delaying a criminal investigation into Hunter's alleged unpaid taxes. 2017 and 2018.
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