FBI Director Warns Against Controversial Trump Plan Impacting Law Enforcement

Transcript

00:00And you're familiar with Project 2025, are you not?

00:05I mean, I've seen, you know, news reports about it.

00:08I'm not particularly familiar with it.

00:10You're aware that it is a game plan for President Trump's first 120 days in office, correct?

00:19I'm really not familiar with the details. I've seen reporting about it.

00:23It is. And what he proposes to do is to force the FBI director to report directly to him.

00:33That's what he wants to do within the first 120 days.

00:37He also wants to eliminate the position of FBI General Counsel.

00:42That is also set forth in Project 2025. How would you recommend that?

00:48I think the FBI's Office of General Counsel serves an incredibly important role, including in terms of advising our workforce.

00:57We have 38,000 people. The idea of having an organization like ours, an independent law enforcement agency like ours,

01:04that doesn't have its own general counsel's office doesn't make sense to me.

01:08Well, it would seem like any proposal that would force the director to report to the president

01:17and then there would be no legal counsel for the director of the FBI.

01:25That seems like it's an attempt to neuter the FBI and render it accountable only to the president.

01:36Isn't that correct?

01:37Well, let me put it this way. I recognize that the FBI director, this FBI director and every FBI director before me,

01:46serves at the pleasure of the president. And that's part of our system.

01:51I was appointed by President Trump. I respect that. I think that's a part of our structure.

01:59But independence in terms of how we do our work is what matters to me.

02:03And we need to be able to do our work in a way that is free from political interference.

02:07Well, you wouldn't be able to do that by reporting everything you do to the president

02:11and getting his authority and approval before you take action, correct?

02:16I don't think that would be a wise approach.

02:19And then there's even a proposal to replace many of those 38,000 dedicated civil servants who work for the FBI,

02:30replace them with a MAGA group that has pledged its allegiance to Donald Trump.

02:39What danger would that bring to the FBI if that were to happen?

02:43Well, again, I haven't read or reviewed this thing that you're referring to.

02:47Assuming what I say is true.

02:49But the FBI is made up of 38,000 dedicated career law enforcement professionals.

02:57It has no political appointees of any kind unless you count me as a nominee of a former president.

03:02You don't want that to change either, do you?

03:03I don't think that should change.

03:04You don't want a bunch of MAGA loyalists being the employees of the FBI.

03:10We're coming up on 116 years of the FBI, and that's the way it has been for 116 years.

03:15It would be crazy to take 38,000 MAGA loyalists and put them at the FBI. That's frightening.

03:23That's what Project 2025 proposes, and I'm glad to know that you are not with that program.

03:31And with that, I yield back.