Is Reform Still Needed in the FBI?

 The FBI raid on former President Donald Trump's Florida home this week is just the latest in a long line of questionable actions taken against Trump going back to the 2016 presidential campaign and beyond. We still vividly recall the Steele Dossier, the FISA warrants against Carter Page, the Michael Flynn fiasco, James Comey, Peter Strzok, Andrew McCabe, Lisa Page, etc. The same high-level figures from the 7th floor of FBI Hqs were involved in the actions taken against Trump and the kid-gloves treatment of Hillary Clinton. A thought to ponder: The FBI never raided Hillary Clinton's home looking for classified government documents while she and her gang with destroying cell phones with hammers.

It is not a stretch to say at this point that the FBI had better produce something big this time. If this turns out to be a big nothing burger, their credibility will be damaged for years to come.

Many of Trump's supporters are now calling for the FBI to be abolished or defunded. I am not ready to go there yet. Being retired from federal law enforcement myself (DEA), I am not ready to throw law enforcement under the bus, or, to put it another way, to throw out the baby with the bath water.

However, it may be time for some reform in the FBI.

Like most old DEA agents, I have mixed feelings about the Bureau. That is based on having had some degree of working experience with them especially after they were given joint jurisdiction with DEA in drug investigations a few decades back. I thought it was a mistake back then, and I still do. The reason is that the FBI and DEA have two separate and distinct cultures due to the types of crimes the FBI has traditionally investigated vs drug investigations.

In the interest of full disclosure, I had an unfortunate experience while working a joint case with the FBI when I was stationed in Pittsburgh. Looking back, I can say that both sides, including myself, could have handled it better. Later, from 1990-1995, I spent the last 5 years of my career as an instructor in DEA's Office of Training, which, at the time, was co-located within the FBI Academy. We were moved there because the current administration and Attorney General Janet Reno were seriously considering abolishing DEA and putting it into the FBI-which, fortunately, did not occur. Reno correctly decided it was not such a good idea. At any rate, our relations with our hosts at the FBI Academy were fine. DEA now has its own facility just down the road from the FBI's in Quantico, Virginia.

To be more specific, most of the FBI's jurisdiction concerns white-collar crimes, in which a crime is committed, and the FBI investigates to find out who is responsible. Drug enforcement is much more street-oriented and pro-active with arrests mostly being made as the crime of a drug transaction or smuggling is in progress. It is true that the FBI also has a history of tracking down dangerous gangsters like John Dillinger. They also have a highly trained Hostage Rescue Team, the same unit involved in Waco and Ruby Ridge. More recently, the FBI has taken the lead in counter-terrorism operations, an effort I strongly support. Let me also add that I have a few friends in the FBI, and I believe in my heart of hearts that most rank and file agents are appalled at the recent controversies involving the Bureau.

But there are cultural and institutional problems in the FBI that go all the way back to J. Edgar Hoover. It is true that he built that organization from almost nothing into the country's largest and most sophisticated law enforcement agency. But Hoover also established a culture that put the Bureau's interests and reputation first and foremost, a culture that looked down on other law enforcement agencies. That has led to a lot of resentment down through the years.

After Hoover's death, subsequent directors like Clarence Kelley, William Webster, and Louis Freeh instituted reforms, but under more recent directors (including the Trump-appointed Christopher Wray), it appears more change is needed.  

The FBI-as is the case with all law enforcement- should be apolitical. That is easy to say but hard to implement. Remember that the FBI is also charged with investigating political and police corruption. In the 2016 election, the FBI and then-director James Comey found themselves in a unique situation. They were investigating both presidential candidates. To be generous to Comey, one could argue that he was simply over his head and did not do a good job. If you read his book, you would think that he was the only moral force in all of Washington DC at the time. I have read the book, and I don't buy it.

The fact is that the FBI is now just as political as in the days of Hoover (to say nothing about the DOJ).  I consider the Hillary Clinton investigation to have been whitewashed. On the other hand, while I am trying to keep an open mind on Trump, it is hard to come to any other conclusion than a small cadre of high-ranking officials on the 7th floor of the headquarters building has been on a 6-year quest to take Trump down. Up to now, they have failed and looked bad in doing it. But how do you remove a federal police agency from politics when you have political corruption and malfeasance going on in Washington? Somebody has to do it.

While I would be against abolishing the FBI, I feel there is still room for reform. It appears that some people in the FBI-in high positions- feel that they are somehow above the law. That thinking goes back to Hoover and it must end. For many decades, the FBI has considered itself head and shoulders above other law enforcement agencies. In terms of resources and jurisdiction over many crimes (perhaps, too many), the FBI is unique. With certain exceptions, which I mentioned above, the FBI is widely considered to be lacking in everyday street enforcement skills as compared to certain other federal agencies and local police.

Going back to the issue at hand, the Mar-a-Lago raid, if the Bureau doesn't produce the goods this time, their image is going to be sullied for a long time. Regardless of our political preferences, we should simply want the truth to emerge. It is my hope that Trump is innocent of any wrongdoing, but we need to see what the FBI found. This may turn out to be a crucial moment in the history of the FBI.