Ethics must be upheld at FBI
Yesterday’s hearing on Capitol Hill featuring FBI agent Peter Strzok quickly turned into a political firefight among lawmakers, but overall it was a damning illustration of the toxic culture that exists within the Washington, D.C., beltway.
At one point, Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy confronted the former investigator over some anti-Trump texts he had sent. In 2016, after FBI lawyer Lisa Page asked Strzok if Trump would ever become the president, his response was, “No. No he won’t. We’ll stop it.”
Republican committee members read a number of Strzok’s vitriolic texts about Donald Trump and his supporters, and at one point Congressman Darrel Issa even directed Strzok to read them himself, which he did.
It was chilling to hear. “F Trump,” is a tiny sampling. Yet, through it all Strzok insisted that the fiery messages were not an indicator of his ability to conduct himself as a neutral investigator, saying, “I can tell you that those text messages are not indicative of bias.”
He said that with a straight face. That is the lesson of the past two years as we’ve learned more about the culture at the FBI and various other government bureaucracies. They believe that they are justified in acting in ways that are at least unethical and possibly illegal if it is for the greater good. That greater good may be the future of the country or even their personal fortunes. It is not OK.
The Department of Justice Inspector General’s report made it clear last month that there was trouble at the FBI and called out Strzok, specifically: “When one senior FBI official, Strzok, who was helping to lead the Russia investigation at the time, conveys in a text message to another senior FBI official, Page, that ‘we’ll stop’ candidate Trump from being elected — after other extensive text messages between the two disparaging candidate Trump — it is not only indicative of a biased state of mind but, even more seriously, implies a willingness to take official action to impact the presidential candidate’s electoral prospects. This is antithetical to the core values of the FBI and the Department of Justice.”
That same report highlighted routine unethical behavior on behalf of agents. “FBI employees received tickets to sporting events from journalists, went on golfing outings with media representatives, were treated to drinks and meals after work by reporters, and were the guests of journalists at nonpublic social events.”
There is a culture of corruption in parts of the federal government and it must be eradicated. Democrats must not let their disdain for President Trump stand in the way of a reckoning that needs to happen in certain corridors of Washington, D.C.
The people deserve good government.