Ex-FBI special agent: Biden must order 'thorough' investigations of Trump Cabinet picks

President-elect Donald Trump has been generating considerable controversy with the cabinet picks for his incoming administration — picks that range from former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (who is Trump's choice for U.S. intelligence director and has openly defended Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine) to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (who has drawn widespread criticism in the medical field for his anti-vaxxer views and is Trump's pick to head the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services).

But the pick that is generating the most shockwaves of all is former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida), who Trump would like to see replace Democrat Merrick Garland as U.S. attorney general.

Gaetz has been investigated for sex trafficking allegations, which he has vehemently denied. The MAGA ex-congressman was never charged with anything, and the investigation was dropped.

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In an opinion column published by MSNBC's website on November 18, Frank Figliuzzi — who spent 25 years as an FBI special agent and is now a national security analyst for MSNBC and NBC News — argues that outgoing President Joe Biden should order background checks and comprehensive investigations of Trump's cabinet picks. Biden will remain in office until January 20, 2025, when Trump will be sworn in for his second non-consecutive term as president.

"We had fair warning," Figliuzzi explains. "Last month, The New York Times reported that then-candidate Donald Trump's advisers were telling him to skip FBI background investigations for his high-level selections for nominees. Last week, CNN, citing 'people close to the transition planning,' reported that Trump doesn't plan to submit the names of at least some of his Cabinet-level picks for FBI vetting."

The former FBI special agent adds, "Whether you're Republican, Democrat or independent, and regardless of whether you're energized or enraged by Trump's controversial picks, you should be concerned about the possibility of a vetting process that’s really no process at all."

Biden, Figliuzzi emphasizes, needs to thoroughly "investigate the people Trump says he wants to put in office." And, he notes, the outgoing president has only two months to do it.

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"Biden should be neither ashamed nor afraid to thoroughly investigate Trump's picks, given the signs that Trump may not," the former FBI special agent warns. "Through executive order, he should mandate that the FBI conduct background investigations on Trump's picks and instruct the FBI to begin the process now. The U.S. Senate should use its power to request the same of the FBI. The clock is ticking."

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Frank Figliuzzi's full MSNBC column is available at this link.