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Welcome to The Logoff. Today’s edition is about Donald Trump’s efforts to purge the Federal Bureau of Investigation of his perceived enemies — a power struggle with ramifications for the rule of law throughout the United States.
What’s happened so far? On Friday night, the Department of Justice moved to fire several senior FBI executives — including the head of the Washington field office. Additionally, DOJ is demanding a list of FBI personnel who investigated the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
What’s next? DOJ says the list will be reviewed “to determine whether any additional personnel actions are necessary” — raising the possibility that they’ll fire some or all of the thousands of FBI staff who worked on the January 6 investigation. Meanwhile, legal advisers are preparing to sue to block the firings if they go forward.
Is this normal? Absolutely not. I asked two scholars of FBI history if there was any precedent for this. Both said no. Agents can be fired for corruption or incompetence after a review, but a mass firing for participating in an investigation is unheard of, they said.
What’s the larger context? The firing of top officials could make the FBI less effective in critical areas such as counterterrorism. And mass firings of FBI staff involved in the January 6 investigation would serve as a warning to bureau employees about what happens if they investigate Trump’s political allies, corroding the independence the agency depends on to enforce federal law.
What’s the long-term fear? Both historians mentioned potential long-term fears for the rule of law — and for civil liberties — if Trump continues on this path. “This is what authoritarian secret service and intelligence operations look like,” Beverly Gage, a history professor at Yale University who wrote a book about the FBI, told me. “They are the security wing of one man, serving at his behest, rewarding his friends and punishing his enemies. … We’ve got a lot of battles ahead, but it is extremely bad news.”
And with that, it’s time to log off …
As a reminder: Logging off doesn’t mean turning off your brain. It means taking care of yourself so you — and not the doomscroll — are in charge. To that end, I offer this remarkable Vox piece about one person’s quest for confidence, and all the revelations she had along the way.
