FBI to Trump: Go Fuck Yourself
Head of top field office steels his troops for the "battle" ahead
Feb. 3: Some FBI field office leaders are mounting a rebellion … Trump turns SEC, CFPB over to Wall Street … Trump to meet with tariff foes … DNC elects new leaders …
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The assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York field office reportedly has put his people on notice that they’re under attack, in a “battle” in which “good people … are being targeted.”
Not by al Qaeda or ISIS. By the president of the United States.
Assistant Director in Charge James Dennehy alerted the New York office about the threat after the Justice Department on Friday ordered the FBI to generate a list of everyone in the FBI who had any role in the Jan. 6 investigations and prosecutions. Some top officials have already been dismissed.
Fun fact: The Justice Department’s first Jan. 6 arrests were Jan. 8, 2021, under Trump.
FBI employees have until today at 3pm eastern time to fill out an insane questionnaire about any work they may have done. The questionnaire is mandatory for management but not for others.
Dennehy, a former Marine, responded with an email telling the New York office, “Today, we find ourselves in the middle of a battle of our own, as good people are being walked out of the F.B.I. and others are being targeted because they did their jobs in accordance with the law and F.B.I. policy.”
The removals of nine FBI leaders under Pres. Donald Trump, Dennehy wrote, have created “fear and angst within the F.B.I. ranks.”
Dennehy also said he’s not going anywhere: “Time for me to dig in.”
And he praised FBI officials leading the defense against Trump’s purge. “They are warriors,” Dennehy reportedly said. And he told the New York office that the two top officials at the FBI are “fighting” purge attempts and pushing for formal review processes.
They’re not alone. Politico reports that leaders of other FBI field offices have told their people not to fill out the questionnaires. The Trump Justice Department has already fired 30 Jan. 6 prosecutors and about a dozen deputies of former special counsel Jack Smith.
But the FBI has its own culture and traditions and deeply entrenched notions of what is and isn’t cause for dismissal.
About 6,000 of the FBI’s 38,000 employees are believed to have had at least some involvement in a Jan. 6 case. Meaning, if Trump wants to purge them all, he’ll be wiping out almost 16% of the bureau, making him more successful than any terrorist group in history.
A lawyer who represents some FBI staffers told Politico, “There’s growing resistance.” Referring to the questionnaires and the special agents in charge, who typically run field offices, the lawyer said, “Some are telling people beneath them, don’t submit it, or don’t submit it right away.”
The New York office has more than 2,500 people, including agents, civilian employees, and about 500 law enforcement tasked from other agencies.
FWIW, the New York field office is famously independent, even of the FBI leadership. Not always in a good way.
Dennehy, however, appears to be cut from different cloth. A former Marine, Dennehy in his memo to his team described hunkering down in a foxhole to keep safe: “It sucked,” he wrote. “But it worked.”
WHAT TO MAKE OF IT The headlines you’re seeing are all about the chaos that Trump is causing. It’s essential, however, that we not let the chaos overwhelm or dismay us.
We Newsfuckers knew all of this was coming. This is the rake-setting, Trump laying down rakes for him to step on, planting the seeds of his political demise and popular rebellion.
It’s hard to see it now, but in the weeks and months to come the Trump firehose will give way to the mounting drip-drip of story after story from agency after agency of failure after failure attributable to Trump and his incompetence and malice.
Staying engaged means we can see and share the evidence of Trump’s collapse(s). That means ignoring the stuff that doesn’t matter and hunkering down for the future. It sucks. But it works.
Trump Fulfills MAGA Dream of (Openly) Letting Big Banks Run Things
Pres. Donald Trump over the weekend gave his MAGA supporters what they’ve always dreamed of: Total impunity for Wall Street banks. Remember campaigning for that, MAGA mediocrities?
It used to be that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) could launch investigations with just the say-so of its enforcement directors. But now, the SEC is changing the rules.
Before SEC investigators can start looking into a big Wall Street firm, they now need to get permission from the SEC commissioners — who are appointed and confirmed by people who get checks from those firms.
Reuters reports that the change was made after Trump took office. Trump has nominated Paul Atkins to lead the SEC. What kind of experience does he have?
Well, the global economic crash happened on his watch, if that tells you anything. And that was before some shitface invented crypto currencies. Which are now also part of the SEC’s oversight.
(Remember, oversight can mean responsibility. Or something you missed. Or both.)
As Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) put it in a statement last year, Atkins is “a Wall Street lobbyist whose main contribution during the last financial crisis was to protest fines against the giant corporations that defrauded investors.”
You can always get a good idea of who’ll benefit and who’ll get shafted by looking at who’s celebrating and who’s mourning.
The celebrants after Trump’s announcement of Atkins were Wall Street trade groups: The Managed Funds Association. The Investment Company Institute.
And they weren’t celebrating because they expect Atkins to stop them from sucking up our precious bodily fluids.
Of course, the SEC isn’t the only federal agency standing between Wall Street and your money. There’s also the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Warren’s brainchild after the 2007/2008 global economic crash that Atkins watched.
On Saturday, Trump remembered to fire CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. In his letter to Trump, Chopra reminded him that under Pres. Joe Biden, the CFPB recovered billions of dollars from banks and other criminals, returning it to their victims.
In a hilarious touch, Chopra assured Trump that the CFPB is poised during his presidency to do great things like “block financial firms and technology giants from debanking and deplatforming Americans based on their speech or religious views.”
In a droll touch, Chopra happily gifted Trump with the great news that Trump’s CFPB director “will be able to act on the evidence we have already uncovered in law enforcement investigations of Big Tech and Wall Street firms.” So adorable!
Smartly, though, Chopra reminded Trump of his promise to cap credit card rates at 10% and assured him the CFPB is standing by to help! Any day now, right?
Will Trump’s Tariffs Cause Some Pain? Yes. Maybe. And Maybe Not!
Pres. Donald Trump yesterday finally remembered that campaign promise he forgot to mention during the campaign: Pain.
On Sunday, a day after signing his tariffs order, Trump explained to the American people that this will hurt us more than it’s going to hurt him. He issued his bold statement about his new tariffs decisively, with no uncertainty or room for doubt:
“WILL THERE BE SOME PAIN? YES, MAYBE (AND MAYBE NOT!)”
Within an hour after posting that, he arrived at his West Palm Beach golf club.
But true to Trump’s yes, maybe, maybe not word, there are already signs of pain, as stock futures plummeted overnight.
Trump promised, however, that the economic pain that will yes, maybe and maybe not result from tariffs will be worth it because it will lower costs of things like pharmaceuticals and improve trade deficits.
Are those the reasons he gave just a day before for imposing the tariffs? Yes. Maybe. And maybe not!
In fact, Trump on Saturday said the tariffs are needed to address undocumented immigration and fentanyl. (Did TFN unpack the tariffs bullshit in a weekend bonus story and update? Yes. Maybe. And maybe not!)
UPDATE Trump reportedly will speak today with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, history’s greatest monsters since Hunter Biden.
So, don’t be surprised if Trump backs down and trumpets some minor concession like an extra guard at Rio Bravo as a Trump victory akin to storming the beaches of Normandy. The danger for Trump, here, of course, is that every time he does this, the more he becomes The Boy Who Cried Wolf of Wall Street.
Trump Unites Nation
Pres. Donald Trump has finally succeeded at what he long promised: Uniting the nation, inspiring its leaders to come together in common cause and champion their country’s resilience, and rallying the nation’s people. Unfortunately for Trump, the nation is Canada.
With Trump’s tariffs of 25% on goods from Canada hitting on Tuesday, Canada announced its own 25% tariffs on products from U.S. areas that are dumb and/or vote dumb.
Florida oranges. Ohio appliances. Pennsylvania motorcycles.
In all, 1,256 U.S. products will be rendered virtually unaffordable in one of America’s top trading partners thanks to Trump’s genius. The U.S. sold about $105 billion worth of crap to Canada last year.
Canadian leaders across the political spectrum are rallying against their surprising new enemy. They’re cutting back on contracting opportunities for American companies. They’re calling for boycotts. They’re telling people to vacation somewhere else.
When the U.S. national anthem was played at pro hockey and basketball games in Canada this weekend, the fans booed. Canadian fans.
All because Trump wants Canada to do more to stop fentanyl and undocumented immigrants from crossing into the U.S., a problem that last year amounted to 1.5% of all migrant apprehensions and a whopping total of 43 pounds of fentanyl, or roughly the same amount consumed at last night’s Grammy parties.
Three Aircraft Mishaps with Casualties…So Far!
An Air Wisconsin jet on Saturday knocked over one of those tug carts that pull planes around at airports. That’s right, Pres. Donald Trump’s Federal Aviation Administration is already expanding its incompetence to the ground.
The 64-year-old driver was trapped underneath and was in critical but stable condition.
That’s at least an improvement over the seven people killed and five hospitalized Friday when a medevac flight crashed in Philadelphia. The dead included the patient, a Mexican girl, who was killed along with her mother.
And, of course, the U.S. military killed both Russians and Americans in Wednesday’s midair collision between a Black Hawk chopper and passenger jet which is still under investigation despite Trump cracking the case immediately using his common sense.
Anyway, the important thing is that America’s aviation system is in good hands with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, whose background in transportation includes his experience on MTV’s Road Rules: All Stars.
Martin Wins DNC Chair
Minnesota Democratic-Labor-Farmer Party Chair Ken Martin just added 49 more states to his inbox.
After winning the role of Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair on Saturday, Martin said, “This is a new DNC … we’re taking the gloves off.”
Martin overcame the preferred candidate of Democratic establishment leaders Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). Both had backed Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler.
Martin’s big vow was to fight everywhere, to mount challenges in every federal race and not write off anywhere as too red to fight. He reportedly believes, however, that the party already has the right message. Despite, y’know, losing with it.
The DNC also elected three vice chairs. Parkland, FL, school shooting survivor David Hogg is one of them. Another is Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, who you may remember from his 2022 Senate run.
Five Quickies
Former Transportation Secretary Pete “Miss Me Yet?” Buttigieg is ruling out a run for governor of Michigan, where he, like, just moved to, but reportedly is considering a Senate race. A 2026 Senate race would, of course, mean shining a spotlight yet again on all the stuff I uncovered about his time as mayor of South Bend, IN.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) office is closed today. Already, Dept. of Government Efficiency (DOGE) officials had begun taking over offices and ousting USAID leaders. How badly are Pres. Donald Trump and DOGE guy Elon Musk fucking this up? USAID Director Matt Hopson quit. Just days after starting the job. He was a Trump appointee who had just been appointee-ed. It’s worth remembering that presidents can’t just not preside over agencies established and funded by law. As one agency official said to ABC: “Where are Republican senators like Senator [Lindsey] Graham [R-SC] and [James] Risch [R-ID] who have supported the good work of this agency in the past? Will they speak out?" It’s not a naive question. The religious right has supported foreign aid, if only as a vessel for Christian proselytizing, but there’s genuine commitment to fighting hunger and disease, too. We’ll see the measure of their belief when we start hearing about the needless deaths.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered an end to Pentagon “identity months,” stopping all work on or official recognition of Black History Month, Women’s History Month, National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and any other months they find out about. Meanwhile, the woke White House issued a Black History Month proclamation calling on “public officials, educators, librarians, and all the people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.” Ooh, Hegseth’s in trouble!
The first thing that happens when a party of undisciplined, self-interested, undemocratic dipsticks gains control is that all those attributes TFN just inventoried sabotage their efforts. We’re already seeing it in Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) tried to strongarm the Republican legislature. And they’re telling DeSantis to go fuck himself. DeSantis called a special session to pass his immigration agenda — so legislators convened and passed Trump’s legislative agenda. DeSantis is now promising to help primary challengers who run against disobedient Republicans. Bon appetit!
Pres. Donald “No Foreign Wars” Trump on Saturday ordered air strikes in Somalia to remind everyone he’s armed now. The strikes killed alleged Islamic State operatives, but really, the New York Times reported, “The strikes were more symbolic than substantive, several U.S. military and defense officials said, meant more to burnish Mr. Trump’s image as a commander in chief protecting the country from terrorists in the early days of his administration than to neutralize a serious threat.” Sounds impeachable to me! But also, despite this burnishing, Trump’s image as commander in chief this term still includes killing more U.S. airline passengers than ISIS operatives or even Russian figure skaters.
A Quick(ish) Reflection
When TFN shares stuff with you Newsfuckers, the point is not to make anyone despair or succumb to helplessness in the face of the onslaught.
We knew they’d get a shot at the levers of immediate power when they got into office. We knew there’d be chaos and around-fucking.
The point of sharing it is to get it on the record. To put a pin in it so no one gets to memory-hole it when the bills come due.
Now, did we ever dream that America would have its first passenger-jet crash since 2009 almost as soon as Trump appointed a Transportation secretary from The Real World: Boston? We did not.
But they’ve got hold of more subtle systems, too. And those fuckups we also want to document. Because those bills will take a little longer to come due. So remembering is important.
The chaos matters as incriminating evidence for future failures, but also for what it tells us about who we’re dealing with.
A Newsfucker asked me the other day whether I think all of this Trumping is super-smart calculation with some payoff coming for the chaos — or whether they’re just dumb and bad at governmenting. That was before a military chopper slammed into a commercial airliner, making Defense Secretary Hegseth’s American death toll much higher than the number of scary foreign bad people he’s killed. Even with Somalia. So chop chop!
The question got me thinking about my time working in TV news. I’ve worked with some super-smart, totally capable people who hit it out of the park all the time. And then they ended up on a bad show and churned out crap. I have been this person.
So, I am sure that the Trump administration has some eighth-level chess players. Master schemers. Policy wonks of evil. Evil wonks of policy.
But it is extraordinarily difficult even for geniuses to generate any return from any assets when mired in a system that is doody-pants.
In the meantime, will there be pain? Yes. Maybe. Maybe not!
And I sense sometimes that some Newsfuckers get frustrated by my optimism. My insistence to focus on the path upward. I can feel them asking when I would despair. The answer is never.
TCB
SOON, I SWEAR In addition to those TFN bonus stories on the tariffs, I spent most of the weekend working on an upcoming exclusive report for the family-friendly Jonathan Larsen Substack. It has to do with Thursday’s National Prayer Breakfast so I’m scrambling to publish beforehand. Pray for me.
SUPPORTING TFN The collapse of legacy media means more of its veterans are setting up shop at Substack. Even if they did mediocre work or perpetuated crap journalism, their fame gives them a leg up when it comes to scooping up subscribers and support. To survive against their humongo brand names, TFN has to grow enough, quickly enough, to still stand out against all their star power. We are still growing at a rate that blows my mind and fills my heart with Grinch-scale tingles. But growth means building the ranks of paid subscribers, too, so that I can keep this work sustainable for me and my family and keep TFN free for everyone.
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CONNECTING Come say hi on Bluesky, Mastodon or Spoutible, until we inevitably learn that they’re evil, too.
Go get ‘em, kids. And if Elon Musk tries to take over your office, just say no.
It’s Me here. Substack junky. Your writing is really catching on and now I’m going out of my way looking for more of it. It used to be more of a fun pastime reading your work but now I need it. Funds are tight now and may well get much worse if the south african nazi has his way. My social security check is a big part of my income and now I’m not so sure about that being sacrosanct anymore. Also a recession is on the horizon and what sane middle american wants that! If I had my druthers I’d pay you for your work. If things work out on my end later on, I will. In the meanwhile a thank you for your work will have to do.
We must stand our ground and fight to the finish.