SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
White House Tried to Interfere With FBI Investigation of White House, Officials Say
Brazen attempt at political interference provokes comparisons to Watergate
Feb 24, 2017
White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus contacted the FBI and asked them to deny reports that the Trump campaign was in contact with Russian intelligence agents before the November election, CNN reported Thursday, citing multiple U.S. officials who asked to remain anonymous.
Such a request would mark a stark breach of protocol put in place to ensure that FBI investigations remain free of political interference.
As Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, told the Guardian: "The White House is simply not permitted to pressure the FBI to make public statements about a pending investigation of the president and his advisers."
The Guardian explained the protocol reportedly violated by Trump's White House:
A 2009 memo from the then attorney general Eric Holder says the Justice Department should advise the White House on pending criminal or civil investigations "only when it is important for the performance of the president's duties and appropriate from a law enforcement perspective." When communication has to occur, the memo says, it should involve only the highest-level officials from the White House and the Justice Department.
The New York Times' story on communications between Trump campaign aides and Russian officials was published on February 14. Soon thereafter, "White House officials had sought the help of the bureau and other agencies investigating the Russia matter to say that the reports were wrong and that there had been no contacts, the officials said," CNN reported.
The brazen attempt to interfere with an active investigation reminded some of President Richard Nixon's Watergate scandal, during which Nixon tried to use the CIA to quash the FBI investigation of the Watergate burglary.
The outrageous breach of protocol has fueled calls for Priebus' resignation.
"This is plainly a White House that has no compunction about asking the federal law enforcement apparatus to run its errands, and to operate as barroom bouncers on call whenever the jefe feels inconvenienced," wrote Esquire's Charles P. Pierce. "At least Nixon hired his own investigators when he got pissed at newspaper leaks. These clowns tried to turn the FBI into the Plumbers. It's going to get really crowded in D.C. parking garages pretty soon."
"Where will transgressions end?" tweeted Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) co-founder Norm Eisen:
Meanwhile, the only public response President Donald Trump has had to the story thus far is to take to Twitter and attack the FBI: "The FBI is totally unable to stop the national security 'leakers' that have permeated our government for a long time," Trump tweeted.
In fact, it seems that instead of an independent investigation into the reports of ties between Trump aides and Russian officials, the American public may only see an investigation into "low-life leakers" conducted by a billionaire Trump ally, as Common Dreams reported.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus contacted the FBI and asked them to deny reports that the Trump campaign was in contact with Russian intelligence agents before the November election, CNN reported Thursday, citing multiple U.S. officials who asked to remain anonymous.
Such a request would mark a stark breach of protocol put in place to ensure that FBI investigations remain free of political interference.
As Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, told the Guardian: "The White House is simply not permitted to pressure the FBI to make public statements about a pending investigation of the president and his advisers."
The Guardian explained the protocol reportedly violated by Trump's White House:
A 2009 memo from the then attorney general Eric Holder says the Justice Department should advise the White House on pending criminal or civil investigations "only when it is important for the performance of the president's duties and appropriate from a law enforcement perspective." When communication has to occur, the memo says, it should involve only the highest-level officials from the White House and the Justice Department.
The New York Times' story on communications between Trump campaign aides and Russian officials was published on February 14. Soon thereafter, "White House officials had sought the help of the bureau and other agencies investigating the Russia matter to say that the reports were wrong and that there had been no contacts, the officials said," CNN reported.
The brazen attempt to interfere with an active investigation reminded some of President Richard Nixon's Watergate scandal, during which Nixon tried to use the CIA to quash the FBI investigation of the Watergate burglary.
The outrageous breach of protocol has fueled calls for Priebus' resignation.
"This is plainly a White House that has no compunction about asking the federal law enforcement apparatus to run its errands, and to operate as barroom bouncers on call whenever the jefe feels inconvenienced," wrote Esquire's Charles P. Pierce. "At least Nixon hired his own investigators when he got pissed at newspaper leaks. These clowns tried to turn the FBI into the Plumbers. It's going to get really crowded in D.C. parking garages pretty soon."
"Where will transgressions end?" tweeted Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) co-founder Norm Eisen:
Meanwhile, the only public response President Donald Trump has had to the story thus far is to take to Twitter and attack the FBI: "The FBI is totally unable to stop the national security 'leakers' that have permeated our government for a long time," Trump tweeted.
In fact, it seems that instead of an independent investigation into the reports of ties between Trump aides and Russian officials, the American public may only see an investigation into "low-life leakers" conducted by a billionaire Trump ally, as Common Dreams reported.
White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus contacted the FBI and asked them to deny reports that the Trump campaign was in contact with Russian intelligence agents before the November election, CNN reported Thursday, citing multiple U.S. officials who asked to remain anonymous.
Such a request would mark a stark breach of protocol put in place to ensure that FBI investigations remain free of political interference.
As Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, told the Guardian: "The White House is simply not permitted to pressure the FBI to make public statements about a pending investigation of the president and his advisers."
The Guardian explained the protocol reportedly violated by Trump's White House:
A 2009 memo from the then attorney general Eric Holder says the Justice Department should advise the White House on pending criminal or civil investigations "only when it is important for the performance of the president's duties and appropriate from a law enforcement perspective." When communication has to occur, the memo says, it should involve only the highest-level officials from the White House and the Justice Department.
The New York Times' story on communications between Trump campaign aides and Russian officials was published on February 14. Soon thereafter, "White House officials had sought the help of the bureau and other agencies investigating the Russia matter to say that the reports were wrong and that there had been no contacts, the officials said," CNN reported.
The brazen attempt to interfere with an active investigation reminded some of President Richard Nixon's Watergate scandal, during which Nixon tried to use the CIA to quash the FBI investigation of the Watergate burglary.
The outrageous breach of protocol has fueled calls for Priebus' resignation.
"This is plainly a White House that has no compunction about asking the federal law enforcement apparatus to run its errands, and to operate as barroom bouncers on call whenever the jefe feels inconvenienced," wrote Esquire's Charles P. Pierce. "At least Nixon hired his own investigators when he got pissed at newspaper leaks. These clowns tried to turn the FBI into the Plumbers. It's going to get really crowded in D.C. parking garages pretty soon."
"Where will transgressions end?" tweeted Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) co-founder Norm Eisen:
Meanwhile, the only public response President Donald Trump has had to the story thus far is to take to Twitter and attack the FBI: "The FBI is totally unable to stop the national security 'leakers' that have permeated our government for a long time," Trump tweeted.
In fact, it seems that instead of an independent investigation into the reports of ties between Trump aides and Russian officials, the American public may only see an investigation into "low-life leakers" conducted by a billionaire Trump ally, as Common Dreams reported.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.