One of the last remaining members of the Obama-era FBI has announced his retirement.
Bill Priestap, who is the Assistant Director of Counterintelligence for the FBI, will retire before the end of the year.
Finally Leaving
President Trump has been at odds with much of the FBI top leadership from virtually his first day in office.
His displeasure with former FBI director James Comey was very public and created more than a few waves for the president.
There was already tension between the two but after Comey started leaking information to the press, things really got out of control.
Trump, along with many of his supporters, believe the upper-level management of the FBI was chasing a political agenda rather than seeking out justice.
The handling of the Hillary Clinton email probe is proof positive the agency was operating with political prejudice.
Now that Priestap is leaving, maybe the FBI can get back to being one of the greatest law enforcement agencies in the world.
Adios, Priestap
Priestap was involved in the Hillary Clinton email investigation, along with the initial Trump-Russia investigation.
In fact, he was the last key official remaining at the FBI who had been involved in both investigations.
Reportedly, his decision had nothing to do with the questions surrounding those investigations. Still, it is no real surprise Priestap elected to retire as soon as he was eligible.
An FBI spokesperson stated, “Assistant Director Bill Priestap became eligible to retire and has chosen to do so after 20 years of service.”
Out with the old
Some of the other more notable officials who have recently left or been fired from the bureau are:
James Comey, Director
Andrew McCabe, Deputy Director
Peter Strzok, Counterintelligence
Lisa Page, General Counsel
James Baker, General Counsel
James Rybicki, Comey’s Chief of Staff
Michael Kortan, Assistant Director of Public Affairs
Josh Campbell, Special Assistant to James Comey
James Turgal, Assistant Director to the FBI
Greg Bower, Congressional Liaison
Michael Steinbach, FBI National Security Division
While nobody expects the FBI or any other arm of our Justice Department to operate at the behest of the president, they are expected to operate without a political agenda.
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Under Comey’s leadership, that was clearly not the case.
Hopefully, out with the old and in with the new will finally change that.