'Less safe': Ex-FBI agent warns America’s 'national security is done' if this happens under Trump
After a senior Federal Bureau of Intelligence [FBI] agent in New York sent an email Sunday to his staff promising to stand firm against President Donald Trump's intimidation, firing — and more threats of firing — FBI officials, a former top official in the agency warns America is in danger.
MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace asked ex-FBI assistant director for counterintelligence, Frank Figliuzzi, on Monday about his assessment of the situation.
"What I'm focused on is a couple of things," he began. "First, it's clear to me that Donald Trump lacks the capacity to seriously understand how seriously FBI agents take their oath of office. I don't think he grasped that. I don't think it's a concept he gets. But when you raise your right hand and swear to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution, i don't think anyone takes it more seriously than the US military and the FBI."
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Figliuzzi continued, "Number two, I can't overemphasize the. degree to which the drama playing out right now inside the FBI, and with DOJ [Department of Justice], is unprecedented. This has never happened before in FBI history — the threat of thousands of FBI agents. And let me be clear on something. there are only 14,000 special agents in the FBI. If we lose 6,000 of them, this nation's national security is done."
"For this country, the FBI is tracking multiple terror plots, there are surveillance teams right now watching the act. There are undercover agents right now inside domestic violent extremist groups and international terror groups trying to prevent the next act of terrorism. When you do away with layer upon layer of headquarters and field office management, including the heads of Washington field office, Miami, Las Vegas — all have happened. By the way, some of the people walked out of the.door aren't eligible for retirement, they have no salary on the way to pay for food on the table or the kid's college tuition. Our adversaries are watching this.They know there's a bunch of disgruntled FBI agents with no income coming. This is a national security crisis and we are less safe because of it."
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