Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe said on CNN Saturday evening that President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of Kash Patel to lead the FBI reflects how the former president ran the FBI during his second administration. “This suggests that the government is trying to confuse,” “dismantle,” and “confusion.”
President Trump announced Patel as his FBI nominee on Saturday, saying in a statement that the former chief of staff to the defense secretary “has spent his career exposing corruption, upholding justice, and protecting the American people.” McCabe told CNN Newsroom that the announcement was a “terrible development” for those at the agency and said Patel was not qualified for the job.
“This is a frightening development for FBI employees, for women, and for a country that relies on a highly functional, professional and independent federal law enforcement agency,” McCabe said. “The fact that Kash Patel is completely unqualified for this job is not even up for debate.”
“So I think what we really need to think about now is what does this suggest in terms of Donald Trump's intentions for the FBI?” Kash Patel's appointment or nomination as FBI director at this point , perhaps a plan to disrupt, dismantle, and distract the FBI and use it as a tool for the president's political agenda. '' added McCabe.
McCabe went on to highlight how the FBI was weaponized under the Hoover administration, and argued that President Trump's selection of Patel is returning the FBI to being used by the White House. . (Related: Exclusive: House Oversight Republicans demand answers from FBI over revised crime statistics)
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“As an organization, we know what it's like. This country has been there before, right?” McCabe said. “The pre-Watergate FBI instilled fear in the hearts of every American, from politicians to entertainers to civil rights figures, because the director, acting at the direction of the president, Gather political intelligence and use law enforcement and FBI law enforcement agencies to terrorize and intimidate Americans.
“So the question is, are we going to go back with this nomination? Kash Patel is the perfect candidate for Donald Trump to nominate, if that is indeed his intention with the FBI.” I contend that it is a person,” McCabe said.
During the 2016 campaign, Patel criticized Mueller's investigation into “Russian interference” during Trump's first term and has long opposed the weaponization of the surveillance state. In a recent show, podcastPatel teased his first move if he became FBI director, saying he would “shut down the FBI Hoover Building on day one and reopen it as a deep state museum the next day.”
Americans' attitudes toward federal agencies have reportedly been on a long-term decline, with only 37% of registered voters saying they view the FBI positively and 35% viewing them negatively. The respondents said that they are watching it. According to According to a 2023 poll conducted by NBC News. By comparison, an October 2018 poll found that 52% of Americans had a positive view of the FBI, while only 18% had a negative view, the newspaper reported. Ta.
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