THE FALL OF THE FBI TAKES JAMES COMEY TO TASK, AND MORE:

The rest of the book describes the sad decline in the culture of the Bureau. [Author, the former FBI agent Thomas Baker] traces it to 9/11.

The Director at that time was Robert Mueller who years later supervised the investigation of Donald Trump for allegations of colluding with the Russians – allegations that were ultimately shown to be as groundless as they were explosive. He and his counterpart at the CIA were summoned to the White House to brief President George W. Bush days after the 9/11 attack.

Mueller explained to the President what the Bureau was doing to identify the perpetrators – exactly what the Bureau was supposed to do. Frustrated with Mueller and understandably still upset by the horrific terrorism, Bush snapped that he just wanted to make sure it didn‘t happen again.

The CIA Director then told Bush what his agency was doing to make sure it didn’t.

Mueller left humiliated. His take-away was that the Bureau needed to shift focus toward intelligence-gathering even if it meant sacrificing resources for law enforcement. The Bureau became less cops and more spies.

Mueller’s successor was the notorious James Comey, whom Baker calls a “charlatan” whose tenure as Director was a “disaster” for the Bureau. Baker is indisputably right, even if you consider only the Bureau’s reputation.

Read the whole thing.