David Frum: Trump Is Angry That the FBI Won't Endorse His Theory of Victimhood

[babylonsister]

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/05/trump-wants-chris-wray-buy-his-theory-victimhood/589333/


Trump Is Angry That the FBI Won’t Endorse His Theory of Victimhood
The president has already fired an FBI director and an acting director. Now he’s gunning for the present director, Chris Wray.
12:49 PM ET
David Frum

snip//

Trump wants the FBI to endorse his own theory of victimhood—and it won’t. Worse, the FBI was embedded in the Mueller investigation. The FBI received, and still holds, whatever information the investigation gathered about Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, including potential answers to the all-important question: Why? Why was Vladimir Putin so eager to help Trump into the presidency? Why did Russia care so much, and run such risks for him?

The answer may be indicated in an underappreciated pair of sentences on page 76 of Volume II of the Mueller report: “As described in Volume I, the evidence uncovered in the investigation did not establish that the President or those close to him were involved in the charged Russian computer-hacking or active-measure conspiracies, or that the President otherwise had any unlawful relationship with any Russian official. But the evidence does indicate that a thorough FBI investigation would uncover facts about the campaign and the President personally that the President could have understood to be crimes or that would give rise to personal or political concerns.”

So long as the FBI remains in independent hands, the president will remain gripped by those concerns.

What Trump means by leadership is compliance. He wants an FBI director who serves him personally the way Attorney General Barr has served him personally. So long as the FBI retains its integrity, Trump feels unsafe. He cannot close the case, because he keeps hearing scratching sounds from inside. He cannot move on, because he keeps looking back in fear. His next move? He’s already telegraphing it: another attack on the independence of law enforcement.

Trump today welcomed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to the White House. I keep thinking on this trip of the shrewd insight offered by a Budapest observer when I visited Hungary in 2016: “The benefit of controlling a modern state is less the power to persecute the innocent, more the power to protect the guilty.” Trump holds that power, and he is determined to wield it.

[spanone]

1. he'll keep firing director after director until he finds the guy who is compliant

[sprinkleeninow]

15. Hoping every last one, having some integrity, thumbs their nose at *. eom

[struggle4progress]

2. Unsubstantiated claims of 'coup' attempt after former FBI lawyer knocks them down

By CHEYENNE HASLETT
May 13, 2019, 9:10 AM ET

President Donald Trump on Monday repeated unsubstantiated claims that efforts by law enforcement to investigate the Trump campaign's possible ties to Russia were part of a "coup."

Add Donald Trump as an interest to stay up to date on the latest Donald Trump news, video, and analysis from ABC News.
Donald Trump Add Interest
The president's tweeted reference to a "coup" -- short for "coup d'etat," the French phrase for a government overthrow -- elevates claims from conservative voices including Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton and pro-Trump commentator Dan Bongino.

The president also attacked the FBI as having "no leadership," an insult aimed at FBI Director Chris Wray, whom Trump nominated to replace former FBI Director James Comey. Wray testified before Congress last week that he wouldn't use the word "spying" to describe the bureau's investigative activity ...

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-repeats-unsubstantiated-claims-coup-attempt-fbi-lawyer/story?id=63001147

[DeminPennswoods]

3. David Frum consistently is the most thoughtful

conservative I've read and heard.

[spooky3]

17. I'd include Jennifer Rubin in that category too. Nt

[kentuck]

4. A paranoid, narcissistic autocrat...

has unlimited people to blame.

[magicarpet]

5. donnie jr. as head of the FBI....

USA, USA, USA !

[Fritz Walter]

18. Let's wait and see how well he does under Senate questioning

As an aside, my autocorrect suggested replacing one word in the title: “...how well he dies...”

I would have suggested Eric. He seems much more easily manipulated than his older brother.

Or maybe this would be the perfect role for Tiffany. Maybe even Barron, or at least one of his stuffed big cats.

[procon]

6. This is the first time I've seen that statement from the Mueller report.

But the evidence does indicate that a thorough FBI investigation would uncover facts about the campaign and the President personally that the President could have understood to be crimes or that would give rise to personal or political concerns.”

So long as the FBI remains in independent hands, the president will remain gripped by those concerns.

This is the irrefutable counter argument to Trump's specious claims that the Mueller Report completely exonerated him of any collusion with Russia. Everytime he opens his mouth, someone should include that statement to offset his lies.

For whatever reason, it's now clear that Mueller did not complete his investigation and did not have all the evidence he needed to list the criminal activities of Unindicted Co-Conspirator Number One. This should be the number one goal of Democrats, and task the FBI with completing Mueller's work.

[emmaverybo]

13. Me too. As with most Americans, I am not one of a tiny percentage familiar with the most

crucial findings stated in the report. Trump in keeping Mueller from testifying by laying claim to the whole report hopes to keep us in the dark.
Rachel Maddow interviewed former FBI general counsel James Baker. He would not reply to a specific question about what the FBI had found before Mueller took over the counterintelligence investigation, but did say whatever the embedded agents ran across was not a part of the report.
Where did that evidence go? Baker said into a “different file.”
He seemed to suggest those finding would have gone back to the FBI, but agreed with Rachel that since the FBI is ultimately under Trump, further investigation could prove difficult.
Scary.

[sop]

14. In other words, Trump obstructed the FBI's investigation into his Russian collusion

n/t

[meow2u3]

7. Trump doesn't care if his crackpot conspiracy theories are lies

All he cares is that everybody who works under him do his corrupt bidding and risk going to prison to save his pathetic hide.

[sprinkleeninow]

16. He don't feature his butt being put inna sling. n/t

[Kid Berwyn]

8. When will "his GOP base" learn trouble is with Trump?

Dumping the Bankrupt Unstable Moron will fix things PDQ.

[FiveGoodMen]

20. When will the minions figure out what a jerk Satan is?

Is that what you're asking?

[durablend]

21. It's not a problem, it's a feature

They like his criminality. They too desperately want to tell "teh libz" where to stick it.

[Martin Eden]

24. MAGA minions are totally on board with Trump

No less than the Brown Shirts were on board with Hitler.

[Gothmog]

9. 'Angry' Trump will fire FBI chief for not treating him as a victim of the Mueller probe: Conservativ

Link to tweet

[ancianita]

10. THIS. Your last sentence. It defines our Second Branch, probably half of the First Branch.

[Blue Owl]

11. Once again showing he has the mental capacity of a toddler

n/t

[gordianot]

19. I have known some toddlers capable of showing remorse.

They actually said and signed “sorry” understanding their behavior was at fault. By age 5 most children are capable showing remorse and some empathy. Donald Trump’s adult behavior is deviant in comparison to most children.

[NewJeffCT]

12. Say hello to Acting FBI Director Matt Whitaker

taking a hiatus from selling toilets for well endowed men

[ginnyinWI]

22. If he was smart and not so immature, he would simply shut up about the report!

Just let it go away already. He didn't get arrested, after all. Start acting like a president for a change.

But nooooo! He's got to keep pounding on it and pounding in it, looking guiltier by the day! I suppose we should be glad he's so willing to show us exactly what he is.

[wsbradshaw]

23. Page 76 Volume II

The quote from page 76 volume II should be a headline on every paper in this country.