The FBI Was Always Corrupt

Shall we Agent Provocateur use, past and probably present, situation to the list.

a reply to: MotherMayEye

That and the intimidation that was used.

a reply to: Xcalibur254

you misunderstand, this isnt about whether the fbi is corrupt or not, those of us paying attention (labeled conspiracy theorists) have long known that,

this is about the fbi is corrupt, and its not just conspiracy theory, its fact, to a conspiracy theorist making the leap from one of our theories to well established fact isnt always a big leap, sometimes its a minuscule gap that we see, BECAUSE we were paying attention.

but now the public is being shown that when it comes to FBI corruption, there is no gap, no leap, they are just corrupt, period.
that becoming a public well established fact rather than an internet theory is a HUGE deal. it wont seem like it to those of us already aware of their corruption, but it is HUGE news to 80% of the voting public. THATS what matters, THATS what is significant about all this.

or as the fbi puts it, "fracturing public trust in their department" its more important then you would think to accomplish the change needed to route out that corruption.

a reply to: NobodiesNormal

And what makes this the final nail in the coffin? If the FBI involvement in Watergate didn't seal the deal the details of Hoover's reign of terror would have. This is peanuts compared to what the FBI has actually done in the past.

originally posted by: Xcalibur254
With the impending(?) release of THE memo the topic of FBI corruption has cropped up. The Right acts like the revelation of an FBI that is corrupt and acts in favor of a political candidate over another is the greatest scandal to strike US politics. The Left acts like the FBI have been paragons of morality and virtue over its storied history. And I'm sitting here thinking, "When did everyone just decide to forget that the FBI has always been corrupt?"

Even if we look at the days before it was called the FBI and was simply the Bureau of Investigation it was linked to some serious corruption issues. The most notorious of course being the Teapot Dome Scandal. While the BOI was not directly involved in the scandal itself, it was BOI Director William Burns that tried to shut down the Senate investigation into the matter. He was so disgraced by his activities that he was forced to step down from the position. His replacement was J. Edgar Hoover. The man whose name became synonymous with the FBI and is probably the most famous lawman in American history. He would head the BOI starting in 1924 and would hold that position through to its transition to the FBI and continue on until his death in 1972.

Even before 1935 though the groundwork started being laid for the FBI. While the initial job of the BOI was to crack down on prostitution, by the 1930s organized crime was the biggest issue facing the nation. To help combat this growing threat in 1932 the BOI was merged with the Bureau of Prohibition, the agency that was primarily tasked with dealing with organized crime. Now to illustrate how rampant corruption was in the Bureau of Prohibition one only needs to look at Elliot Ness and his Untouchables. Ness was a BOP agent tasked with taking down Al Capone and his operation. To aid in his mission he was told to put together a task force. After pouring over every BOP agent Ness was only able to come up with 11 agents that he was positive weren't corrupt.

Jump ahead a few years to the Hoover years. While it seemed like Hoover was man who could get things done, it turns out that he was a man that was running his own agenda. Under Hoover agents would regularly be used to target blacks, homosexuals, and liberals. In fact under Hoover the FBI has been linked to such high profile assassinations as MLK, Malcolm X, Harvey Milk, and even the Kennedys.

Shortly following Hoover's death in 1972 a certain break in occurred at the Watergate hotel. While the FBI was not involved in the actual burglary it was a former FBI agent that responsible for wiretapping and monitoring the DNC. Hoover's successor L. Patrick Gray also ended up resigning in disgrace after admitting to destroying Watergate files. Funny enough, it was an FBI agent that blew the whistle on the whole Watergate scandal, Mark Felt aka Deep Throat.

Even in the more modern era we have things like Waco and Ruby Ridge to point at for examples of FBI corruption. In fact these events inspired many to join communities like ATS. The idea of FBI corruption is so prevalent in pop culture that it became a main plot point in the X-Files. Even in the past couple of years the Right has taken issue with the FBI's shooting of LaVoy Finicum. At the same time the FBI has raised the Left's ire by creating the nebulous term Black Identity Extremist that evokes memories of Hoover.

So why are both sides arguing over the FBI's corruption when it has been a fact of the agency's life?

Oh, absolutely. Thats the way of all the "letter" agencies. Imagine what stuff the C.I.A., N.S.A. and others do on a regular basis!!

originally posted by: olaru12

originally posted by: carewemust
Wasnt JOE FRIDAY FBI? Dragnet.

LAPD...

You meant this.

originally posted by: tadaman
a reply to: openyourmind1262

If thats true, then all FBI agents joined to partake in corruption. They arent dumb, so they must have been motivated by the corruption they knew of.

No. All FBI agents didn't join to partake in corruption.

Corruption doesn't work when everybody is corrupt.

You must have a bunch of innocents around, in order to create the "illusion" of incorruptibility, while the "few" corrupt use them a shield, acting silently in the background.

Corruption is just a style of action that is similar in nature to that of a predator. All animals can't be predators, you must have a large number of "prey" and a much smaller number of "predators". Otherwise, the imbalance will lead to extinction of all predators. Too many predators, all the prey will be consumed, then the predators will starve or turn on each other, either way they become extinct quickly.

So, the best FBI are likely to be the ones that join as recruits, and work their way up the ladder. While the "crooked" are likely to be the FBI that are simply "appointed" by the administration, to high posts, where they have the power to use the innocent FBI to carry out their corrupt plans.

So, there are two completely different types of people in the FBI.

Of course, it is possible that an FBI "recruit" could learn that doing a few crooked things can enable him to move up the ladder faster, so there's no guarantee that appointing an "insider" would eliminate the corruption. While, sometimes putting in an "outsider" can bring a fresh perspective, and help solve an internal problem that might be just due to bad habits or misguided practices, rather than outright corruption.

However, the corrupt individual always seeks the "fastest" and "easiest" route to power. So, he's unlikely to have taken the time and effort to work his way up the ranks from the ground to the top. His modus operandi would be to swing in at the last minute and scoop up the top prize without much effort.

a reply to: Xcalibur254

true this isnt a final nail but it certainly is a sizing up the coffin moment, hopefully more like a new dike in a dam.

originally posted by: tadaman
a reply to: Xcalibur254

I would. I guess we are looking for the right type of criminality.

The FBI has outlived its purpose. It needs another FBI to take it down and maybe another Hoover to use means that are not legal to achieve some level of order.

In this instance, today in age, the FBI is an agent of moral and societal affront. DO they do good?

Lets say: They catch a pedo ring, but if the operators are well connected they keep doing business, WHY? I thought we had badass cowboy do gooders.

Maybe they get a low level child pornography ring one day that an informant sold to them and the FBI stops them. OK. Would that be true for a major child pornography ring they were told to protect out of national security since VIPs use it?

What if that major child exploitation ring that is asking for FBI protection was the source of all the other minor ones that the FBI catches and uses to justify their "work"?

If its the criminal element we employ to achieve order then the agents of that force are criminals. Criminals tasked with creating a semblance of order.

The implications of an all powerful and entirely corrupt federal entity are repugnant. They could do so much harm that their touted "residual good" can kiss my ass. I know better.

Everyone must be equal under the law. I guess the questions one has to ask is - how does letting the VIPs etc go on because of "National Security" support adherence to law and justice? How can governments legislate to work around this so the criminals, regardless of their status can face justice without hindering national security?

PS: I'm agreeing with your sentiments. I don't think I am writing quite properly, I have had no sleep! None!