Which is to say, sometimes casting baseless aspersions are not enough. I see CNN is reporting that FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is “stepping down,” and there is a suggestion that it may not be his choice. McCabe has not been a favorite of Trump (and it’s terrible that I can write that line as more than just a turn of phrase, but instead mean it), mostly because he and his wife are Democrats – and his wife actually ran for a state-level office and gave money to the Clinton campaign.
Regardless of whether he chose to quit or was handed a termination notice, it’s important to note that McCabe has worked for the FBI since 1996 – he’s no political appointee who has received a sinecure for butt-licking, he’s a real working dude with real world experience in counter-terrorism and interrogation techniques. The FBI’s reputation, like most institutions, rests primarily on its personnel, so by removing high-ranking personnel, Trump is implicitly destroying the prestige of the institution.
It’s also worth thinking about how the efficiency of the FBI is compromised by McCabe’s exit. Undoubtedly, the FBI will do its best to compensate – and they have enough resources to reduce the impact to perhaps unmeasurability in the short term. But without a doubt, this will impact the morale of the FBI, as did the sacking of Comey after he quite properly refused to swear fealty to Trump. People who are not happy going into work rarely do their best work.
If McCabe has been forced out, someone should ask Trump why he’s endangering the citizens of the United States in order to pursue a personal vendetta.
And if he doesn’t answer, ask it again. And again. The regular folk endangered by reckless acts would really like to know.
