FBI agent resigns, exposes Trump corruption - Brian Tyler Cohen

[TexasTowelie]

John Sullivan resigns from the FBI and explains why.

Transcript:

i'm joined now by 17-year veteran of the
FBI in the Washington field office John
Sullivan john thank you so much for
taking the time ryan thank you so much
for having me now importantly you had
just uh announced on Friday that you had
left the FBI that you resigned after
again almost two decades of service
there why was it important to leave the
FBI just this past week yeah it's it's
was not something that I a decision I
made lightly um but I'm really worried
about what I'm seeing happening inside
of the FBI right now and I feel like the
American public need to understand that
the decisions and cuts that are being
made by Trump and Cash Patel are really
making us less safe you know like you
mentioned almost two decades ago nearly
17 years ago I took an oath and I swore
an oath to uphold the Constitution as
well as protecting the American people
and the steps that Cash Patel and other
leaders that are completely unqualified
for their roles are taking over the last
few months have really made the
organization as a whole much more
destabilized where people are fearful
for their own safety and security and
their own positions and are making the
organization I would say more difficult
to protect the American people every day
what kind of response was there for
example to you know the latest the
latest national security lapse was of
course signalgate um not only inviting a
journalist into your war planning
session but doing it on an app that is
not secured to be able to do this kind
of stuff and yet despite the last decade
of Republicans beating their chest over
how uh using an unclassified server or
uh using an unsecured server to discuss
national security matters was the
gravest threat that we ever faced in the
history of this country now you've got
even Pam Bondi basically announcing that
there won't be any any investigation and
certainly no punishment for all of this
happening yeah the hypocrisy is really
laughable when you think about just the
history of our political environment and
some of the accusations that have been
levied in the past i will say this for
the last 17 years I've have had access
to classified information on a daily
basis and it's not just the information
that you have but it's the individuals
that put themselves in harm's way to get
that information there are people in war
zones and areas that are really not safe
but they put themselves in that position
in order to make Americans more safe and
get us that key information when you use
an unclassified or unsecure chat like
Signal you're kind of laughing at those
individuals who have done all of that
hard work also when you talk about the
specific war planning that was happening
last week you have individuals in this
armed services whose families won't even
mention where they're posted out of
their own safety but we have the highest
ranking ranking individuals in our
intelligence community putting that
stuff on a chat so we have to do
everything possible when we have
classified information not just to
protect the information itself but the
sources and the individuals who put
themselves in harm's way to get that
information and to keep our country safe
every day when I went into the office I
would lock up my phone in a lead lock
box i would even take off my Apple Watch
we would do everything possible to
ensure that there is just no way that
that information could get in the hands
of those who shouldn't have it but what
I think is really concerning is the FBI
for like a longheld tradition and
understanding is that the FBI
investigates whenever we have a
classified leak of information what I
think you saw in that hearing just a few
weeks ago at the house when Cash Battel
wasn't really asked much about the
signal chat because he wasn't a part of
the group when he was asked questions
about investigating it he wouldn't take
a hard stance so Cash Battel and the FBI
really need to do their job and uphold
the integrity of this process and do the
investigation in those 17 years that I
was with the bureau there were of course
times that I saw that individuals could
potentially mishandle information and
inadvertent accidental way but that was
always investigated and handled
appropriately and the appropriate
disciplinary actions were always taken
that's what should be happening now the
rules haven't changed we're just now
with the leadership who are choosing to
not operate by those rules and they're
treating those who are close to Trump
differently mainly to show that they are
loyal to him and not necessarily the
American people or the Constitution even
if this FBI did opt to investigate
things that are happening would you have
faith based on who the leadership is
that those investigations would be
conducted properly that the outcome
would be uh credible the men and women
at the FBI that I've had the opportunity
and pleasure of working with over the
last 17 years are hardworking men and
women analysts agents professional staff
who come in every day dedicated to
ensuring that they are following the
rule of law and they are following the
appropriate processes in place to
protect the American people what I think
is important is to know that those
individuals will always follow what is
right whether leaders or not are
supporting them or targeting them for
that work is a different story so I had
the opportunity it was an honor and a
privilege to really be able to work on
the January 6 investigations and I've
seen now ever since those investigations
were completed and the administration
changed those individuals who worked on
those cases have been asked to fill out
surveys identify how they were involved
in the investigation and many of them
are really terrified about what the
response will be as a result of those
those efforts and answering those
questionnaires they followed the rule of
law but right now they are being
targeted by this current administration
for doing their work and upholding the
constitution so I have full faith in the
organization the men and women there
every day to do that investigation
accurately and completely just like they
have always done for the entire history
of the FBI well I want to dig into that
a little bit because you know you've got
folks who who um commit the cardinal sin
of doing their job in a way that is that
is honest and and accurate and uh and
with integrity um who don't want to
abide by what this administration is
doing and uh and and leave like you've
decided to do after 17 years is there
some concern that by virtue of you
leaving by virtue of you self- selecting
out that that you will be replaced by
somebody who won't be who who isn't
willing to have some adherence to the
Constitution or to statute or to law but
rather just blind deference to Donald
Trump i think that when when people
leave the FBI you don't really the FBI
is still with you in a lot of ways my
stepping away from the role that I had
as a senior executive is not to leave
the mission and the oath that I took
behind but it's to truly honor that oath
and that mission in a new way which is
to let the American people know that the
actions that are being taken right now
by the Trump administration i mean let's
just look at the economy the tariffs the
challenges that we're seeing to 401ks i
don't know if you've looked at yours
today but mine is not looking so great
oh no i I avoid I uh I actually just
pretend like nothing exists right now
and uh
and so when you think about it the
president's being so flippant with the
economy which drives up prices for so
many people around the country and
everyone's aware of that the national
security apparatus of this country is
secretive for a reason and it's to
ensure that we can do the work and
protect the American people so if he's
so flippant with the economy you can
imagine that the leaders that he's
selected are being flippant with our
safety and security so I am know that
the people at the FBI who are career
officials who are staying who are going
to be there to uphold the law and that
oath from internal inside of the
organization they're going to be strong
and they're going to do the work
correctly we're going to follow the
facts and follow the law as Chris Ray a
former director until this fall or right
around the inauguration he was Trump
appointed he is someone who always said
we had to follow the law and follow the
facts and that is what the FBI has done
i think there's always an opportunity to
your question that individuals could
come in who are less adherent but those
are not going to be the rank and file
the men and women of the FBI who've
served the country and the and to get to
a senior position over the course of
more than a decade that could be someone
like a political appointee like a cash
Patel and for the first time ever the
deputy director being appointed from
outside with absolutely zero experience
in Dan Banino john what was the the
reaction for example when Trump held his
speech at the Department of Justice and
basically used it to to give a wink and
a nudge about who he wants to be
investigated he he named people like
Norm Eisen and Mark Elias both of whom
um I I interview quite often on on my
show and who have been prolific in terms
of their push back against the worst
successes of this administration it was
clear what he was trying to do by going
to the DOJ and basically spelling out a
list of his enemies how does that kind
of thing land uh with rank and file
prosecutors and investigators uh once
they're not you know face to face with
the president of the United States yeah
it's a really good question i think if
you look historically we've obviously
had instances of presidents addressing
the Department of Justice before in
person but I think to your point the
tone and the tenor and the words that
were used during that address were
particularly concerning you have to
remember the FBI in of its at its basic
line is apolitical to find those facts
and investigate that evidence and make a
determination and to you know hold that
oath and upholding the Constitution
really as a cornerstone of the
organization when you have a president
who goes to the Department of Justice
for example and kind of using your
phrase kind of wink and nod things that
he's looking for it's really concerning
but I think what we can do is we can
draw a straight line of that to some of
the changes that have been made in the
really recent past so it's been reported
a bit but the domestic terrorism team
inside of the FBI as Chris Ray again an
Trump appointed director he identified
domestic terrorism in different Senate
and House hearings as the number one
threat facing Americans that's your
active shooters your lone wolf
terrorists yeah Cash Patel and Dan
Bonino under Donald Trump's direction
have actually lessened the personnel
size of that team and they moved it to
other threats like cartels and things
along the southern border which I can
tell you as somebody who is a supervisor
in our criminal division we have always
fully investigated so when you look at
shrinking the domestic terrorism team
who's responsible for keeping Americans
safe and secure and then on top of that
just hitting Americans with another cut
which is cutting grants for violence
prevention so we're talking about the
training that the FBI and other agencies
do at your place of work your place of
worship whether it be a church a
synagogue a mosque you are being made
less safe by the choices that are being
made to shrink that domestic terrorism
team but then you're also not being
given the resources needed to really
protect yourself when that threat
potentially does present itself to you
so that speech was just nothing more
than a um a call to things that are
already starting to happen but they're
happening because those political
appointees who are in those roles namely
the new director are making those cuts
and making America less safe right
perfectly put john what's next for you
again almost two decades at the FBI yeah
you know it is a big period of
transition i have to say that I'm really
looking forward to using my voice
upholding that mission and that oath in
any way that I can to keep America safe
and let America know that these
challenges are happening in the
background you know I can't talk about
everything that I did at the bureau but
there were some things that I did that
you know were particularly impactful i'm
a dad um the ability to investigate
child predators is something that is
hugely significant and something I'm
really proud of working under the Obama
administration to remove foreign
adversaries from this country looking at
cartels looking at the fentinel flow
into this country there's a lot of
really great work that I know that I can
talk about and make Americans understand
not just the importance of the FBI but
why it's so important that Congress acts
we need Democrats we need Republicans to
do their job to uphold sort of this
understanding of what the FBI should be
doing and ensure that we are demanding
that the FBI senior leadership mainly
Cash Patel and Dan Boner are doing their
jobs congress really needs to act and
have some of that oversight perfectly
put well appreciate you taking the time
today and appreciate you speaking out
here John Sullivan thank you.

[applegrove]

1. The clown car clashes with squares. How scary is

it for Americans that their stellar law enforcement agency is under duress.