Writers from across the political spectrum on the continuing debate over the Republican memo alleging abuses at the F. B. I. and Justice Department.
The political news cycle is fast, and keeping up can be overwhelming. Trying to find differing perspectives worth your time is even harder. That’s why we have scoured the internet for political writing from the right and left that you might not have seen.
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James S. Robbins in USA Today:
Mr. Robbins, a former member of George W. Bush’s Defense Department, lays out the concerns of many on the right — particularly those who believe the Republican memo made public last week revealed serious impropriety by the F. B. I. and the Justice Department. Beyond summarizing many of the main points of the memo itself, including that “top Obama administration officials knowingly and willfully used unverified information paid for by the Hillary Clinton campaign” to obtain a surveillance warrant for Carter Page, a former Trump campaign adviser, Mr. Robbins also presses for further transparency. “Can the memo not be understood without seeing the classified background material?” His answer: “Declassify it.” Read more »
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Mollie Hemingway in The Federalist:
Ms. Hemingway believes that some of the news media’s characterization of the Trump administration as being “at war” with the F. B. I. and federal law enforcement is disingenuous and damaging. She cites, as an example, the reporting that The New York Times did over the weekend on the F. B. I.’s slow action in the Larry Nassar molestation investigation. “No reasonable person would think that highlighting problems at the F. B. I. as it relates to inquiries into the abuse of children means that The New York Times is at war with the F. B. I.,” she writes. This is precisely what Representative Devin Nunes of California, who spearheaded the memo, and President Trump are doing in releasing it, she maintains. Read more »
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Jeet Heer in New Republic:
Mr. Heer contends that, historically, the F. B. I. has been a conservative, if not “reactionary,” institution. Which, he writes, makes the attacks on the agency by Mr. Trump and congressional Republicans all the more strange and alarming. He points out that during the presidential campaign, news of the investigation into Hillary Clinton leaked to the news media while the Trump investigation was kept quiet. “This hardly suggests an F. B. I. bias.” Read more »
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John Nichols in The Nation:
Mr. Nichols takes aim at Speaker Paul D. Ryan, writing that the Republican congressional leader abandoned his duty to steer the legislative branch as a check on the “lawless” executive branch of the Trump administration. “Paul Ryan is not supporting the Constitution,” Mr. Nichols writes. “He is shredding it.” Read more »
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John Sipher in Politico Magazine:
Mr. Sipher, a former C. I. A. agent, argues that the Nunes memo, and its treatment of Christopher Steele, the author of the Trump dossier and a former MI-6 agent, may scare off other foreign tipsters willing to share vital information with American agencies. Moreover, he argues that even if Mr. Steele had a personal bias against Mr. Trump, it should not disqualify his information as unreliable. “Being biased is hardly a disqualifier,” Mr. Sipher writes. “If it were, we would have a tough time finding sources in most countries around the world.” Read more »
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Douglas M. Charles in The Conversation:
Mr. Charles is a history professor at Pennsylvania State University, specializing in the history of the F. B. I. He writes that the actions congressional Republicans have taken to discredit the F. B. I.’s investigation of the Trump campaign is “startling” and “unprecedented.” Read more »
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