The federal bureaucracy is not well-loved, but there is at least one person, and perhaps a small group, in the FBI who deserve gratitude. why? Have you ever seen the story about the FBI revising its crime data?
In the first 2022 crime statistics released by the FBI, 2.1% decrease Although this number has never been accurate and has been widely questioned, the FBI data is considered reliable. Former President Donald Trump often claims that crime is on the rise, and legacy media delight in throwing FBI statistics back at him.
Oops. The FBI very quietly released the following document: correction. Crime did not decrease by 2.1%. violent crime actually broke down 4.5%. Yes, as Trump says, crime has increased. Moreover, reversing a 2.1% decline into a 4.5% increase, a combined correction of nearly 7%, is too large to be a simple error. “Something is rotten in Denmark (Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 4). ” (Related: Gavin Wax: J.D. Vance proved Republicans can talk about the environment)
Quite understandably, most of the attention this bombshell has received has been focused on the rise in crime, the validation of President Trump's claims, and the FBI's wrongdoing.
Let's consider the last item. The FBI is critical to national security, but it has repeatedly shown poor leadership at several levels of its organizational chart. They see what's happening across the country. Despite being aware of the crime, they allowed the release of a clearly flawed report knowing it would benefit the Democratic nominee.
If Trump wins, it's time for the trash to meet the broom.
But there is another side to this story. The revised numbers showing an increase in crime were released just weeks before the election and delivered another powerful punch to the Harris campaign. The FBI could have waited until after the election. Hey, maybe I could have waited until next year.
How did this happen? How did the new truth slip past FBI leadership?
I'm sure some FBI official somewhere learned the truth. This person, knowing that it will surely ruin his career, will continue to press the media with the correct data and information if the report is not revised and published, if the truth is not revealed through official channels. He may have told his boss that he would be going to an institution. cover up.
Our hero was probably called to multiple meetings by higher-ups and was presumably persuaded, dissuaded, or threatened from falling in line. They've likely heard variations of, “This is not the way it works at the FBI,” “This is going to ruin your career,” and “By the way, do your kids like Springfield Elementary School?” .
Many federal bureaucrats are lazy and useless. Sometimes they are in a position with nothing to do, and sometimes they are malicious.
It's big government. There are bad apples in every barrel. My former boss said: “Bureaucracies are like cockroaches. The problem is not what they eat, but what they go into.”
But there are also many talented professionals who often try to do a good job in impossible situations. They are in every department, agency, and bureau. I've met them in Hell's Revenue Service as well, and they're good people struggling to make an incredibly bad system work.
One of those great experts appears to be in the FBI. A dedicated fighter who would not be bullied or silenced, forced the FBI to release revised crime statistics before the election. We will probably never know who this person is.
But tonight, as you drink a beer or say a prayer, say a few words of gratitude that we have people like them.
J.D. Foster is the former Chief Economist of the Office of Management and Budget and the former Chief Economist and Executive Vice Chairman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He now lives relatively freely in the hills of Idaho.
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