It might come across as trite, but it keeps getting proven true over and over again--you don't hate the legacy media enough. The latest example came Saturday, after the bombshell announcement by President-elect Donald Trump of Kash Patel as his pick for FBI Director.
The wailing and gnashing of teeth from people like former Trump National Security Advisor John Bolton, Biden National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, along with a self-righteous and bland statement from the FBI, have been as good as an endorsement, as we've pointed out Sunday. My colleague Bonchie wrote that a dredged-up quote from former Trump Attorney General Bill Barr's book, which slams Patel as unqualified, was much of the same.
Unofficial endorsements?
FBI Statement re: Trump's Patel Pick Drowned Out by Chorus of Whoops From Former Agents
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GOP Sen. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee appeared on NBC News' "Meet The Press" this week immediately after Sullivan's sit-down with host Kristen Welker, and his comments on Trump's "own hand-picked FBI director," Christopher Wray.
It's worth reading how the questioning was set up--and Hagerty's well-planned answer:
KRISTEN WELKER:
....I want to get your reaction. President-elect Trump essentially making this move that would lead to the firing of his own hand-picked FBI director whose term doesn't come to an end until 2027, replacing him with Kash Patel, of course who served multiple different roles in the first Trump administration. How will you vote on his nomination, and do you think he has enough votes to pass?
SEN. BILL HAGERTY:
I've encouraged Trump to bring Kash Patel to the table for precisely this reason. Unlike Jake, I understand his resistance to talk about Kash, but I'm more than happy to talk about him. He represents the type of change that we need to see in the FBI. If you think about the failures of background checks that have taken place. How can we have somebody like Colin Kahl, who tweeted out classified information. I went to the FBI myself. They ignored me. Basically, he was confirmed on a party line vote in the U.S. Senate with Kamala Harris breaking the tie to put this person that should not even have a security clearance in the third-most powerful position at DOD. You've got Rob Malley. I don't know how he cleared an FBI check. He's now under investigation. His ties to the Iranian influence regime that worked with him and for him. Ariane Tabatabai, who is still at the DOD, should never have cleared an FBI background check. This entire agency needs to be cleaned out. It's not doing its job. And if you look at what happened, the politicization that took place back in 2016, when senior leaders of the FBI collaborated and conspired to try to keep President Trump out of office and then when he came into office they put together this fake Russia-gate investigation that hindered the Trump administration for several years. Look at 2020. Look at what happened there with the, you know, fake Hunter Biden story that the FBI leadership worked together with big tech to censor the Hunter Biden laptop that allowed President Biden to basically fool the American public and come into office. There are serious problems at the FBI. The American public knows it. They expect to see sweeping change, and Kash Patel's just the type of person to do it.
Along with Biden toadies like Sullivan, it appears that Barr book excerpt has been selected by Democrats and their media emissaries to act as a cudgel against any Republican who dares to support Trump's cabinet endorsements. At least, that's what Welker tried here, pressing the senator on whether he disagreed wth Barr on Patel.
Hagerty flatly stated he will "support this appointment," pointing out that Kash Patel is highly qualified, and mentioning he has already shown he's the right pick by "uncover[ing] for the American public what happened with Russia-gate."
Sen. @BillHagertyTN: "I'm going to support this appointment. Kash has worked in national security. He's worked at the Department of Justice and he's somebody that has been willing to uncover the wrongs of the FBI." pic.twitter.com/uTE7JWis8y
— Alex Pfeiffer (@AlexPfeiffer) December 1, 2024
But he wasn't done calling out the gallery of rogues during the Biden administration, whether at the FBI or State, who managed to get/maintain security clearances despite their nefarious activities:
Listen, I think you should have the Biden administration look at itself. What is the qualification of Tony Blinken to become secretary of state? Well, he organized 51 so-called intelligence experts to put together a fake letter saying that the Hunter Biden laptop was Russian disinformation. That must have qualified him to be secretary of state. President Trump is entitled to name his appointees. That is exactly what he's doing, and I'm going to support this appointment. Kash has worked at national security. He's worked at the Department of Justice, and he's somebody that has been willing to uncover the wrongs at the FBI. He's the one that uncovered for the American public what happened with Russia-gate. He's the one that can see through the fix here.
This is exactly how our side needs to do it in the unfriendly territory of legacy media. Do not cede an inch.
You can watch the full interview below:
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