Fix, don’t defund, the FBI
Tom Rogan
It’s obvious that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has its problems.
The former head of the FBI’s much-vaunted New York City counterintelligence division (currently having its busiest week of the year) is being prosecuted on numerous corruption charges. But perhaps also getting a pass on other possible charges. Politicization is also of deep concern. The bureau’s seemingly prejudicial treatment of certain Catholic groups is incompatible with the U.S. Constitution. FBI Director Christopher Wray’s unwillingness to address congressional requests for information in a timely and forthright fashion is antithetical to democratic oversight.
Politicization within the Justice Department is also negatively affecting the FBI. Attorney General Merrick Garland’s skillful evasiveness before Congress offered a case in point on Wednesday. And Hunter Biden concerns aside, DOJ politicization has even led to delayed action on critical counterterrorism concerns.
As the Washington Examiner reported in early March 2022, the DOJ delayed prosecution of Iranian agents who were plotting the assassination of former national security adviser John Bolton. It took the DOJ until August 2022 to unseal its indictment, reflecting the Biden administration’s desire to keep Iran happy toward restoring the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal. This hesitation to punish terrorists with legal action, let alone more direct methods, is surely encouraging Iran’s desire to continue its assassination plots against U.S. persons. Indeed, Iran’s president stated as much on Tuesday.
UNGA WEEK INVOLVES SPIES AND SECURITY AS MUCH AS DIPLOMACY
Still, it would be a terrible error to defund the bureau, as some conservatives argue should be done.
The basic point here is that the day-to-day machinery of the FBI is fit for purpose. That’s the agents, analysts, and support staff who work at the bureau’s national and international field offices. These people underline why the bureau is rightly regarded as the world’s preeminent law enforcement organization. Exceptionally well-trained in the tradecraft of criminal investigation and increasingly recruited from non-law enforcement backgrounds, these people are very good at countering terrorists, disrupting organized crime groups, stopping serial child pornographers, and catching corrupt politicians. These people are motivated by the FBI’s heritage and supported by the fear that the bureau provokes among the criminal fraternity (yes, it is a problem that must be resolved that too many innocent Americans believe they must fear the FBI).
But the facts are clear. The FBI’s plea deal and at trial conviction rate testifies to the skill of its agents at building cases. Google the name of any state capital and add “FBI news” and you’ll see a testament to this success. The FBI’s crisis response capabilities are also world-leading. The bureau’s standing tactical team, the FBI Hostage Rescue Team, is globally respected as a world leader for proficiency in close quarters battle, for example. The FBI Laboratory is the world leader in its field, providing diplomatic benefits in its support to other nations. Rank and file corruption is also far less systemic in the FBI than in the DEA or counterpart law enforcement agencies in Europe.
This is not to say that the FBI’s investigative capability is perfect. The bureau’s intelligence and counterintelligence efforts are regarded by some as too law enforcement-centric in method and action. The bureau’s counterterrorism efforts are viewed by the British intelligence services as insufficiently patient and driven more by the pursuit of arrests than long-term operational success. Like the CIA, the FBI plainly failed in its investigation of Russian-orchestrated elements of the Havana Syndrome concern. As Brett Forrest documents in his book Lost Son, the FBI’s integrity and accountability in support of its confidential agents is also sometimes sorely lacking.
That said, divesting the FBI of funding would eliminate investigative capabilities that the nation depends upon. Transparent reform, especially at the top and also within the DOJ, is the way to go.