Who’da thunk today’s FBI would make the bureau under former director James Comey look like a bunch of pikers? That’s exactly where we find ourselves. A recent poll found more than half of America believes the FBI is now Joe Biden’s “personal Gestapo,” while others believe the bureau has become the GOP’s “bogeyman.” Either way, the FBI is in crisis mode. Which view, if either, is right? I report, you decide.

As reported by my colleague Nick Arama on Friday morning, a new Rasmussen poll shows the public’s reaction to the raid on Donald and Melania Trump’s personal residence at the Mar-a-Lago resort.

A majority of adults — 53 percent — agree with the statement that there is “a group of politicized thugs at the top of the FBI who are using the FBI … as Joe Biden’s personal Gestapo.” The Gestapo was the official secret police force of Nazi Germany. Moreover, 44 percent of likely voters say the unprecedented raid has made them trust the FBI less, while 29 percent say the raid made them trust the FBI more.

Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee, is among those pointing out the FBI’s double standard in its years-long pursuit of Donald Trump.

President Trump does nothing wrong. Has his house raided by the FBI.

Hunter Biden does everything wrong. And the FBI tries to shut down the case.

Hillary Clinton and her Bleachbit-deleted 33,000 emails were unavailable for comment.

President Trump does nothing wrong. Has his house raided by the FBI.

Hunter Biden does everything wrong. And the FBI tries to shut down the case.

— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) August 10, 2022

Here’s a summary of the poll included in Nick’s piece:

Approval of the FBI, including its raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, is highest among Democratic voters. Seventy-five percent (75%) of Democrats now have a favorable opinion of the FBI, up from 63% in December.

Only 30% of Republicans now view the FBI favorably, down from 38% in December; nearly half (49%) of GOP voters now have a Very Unfavorable impression of the FBI. Among voters not affiliated with either major party, 45% have a favorable impression of the FBI and 50% view the bureau unfavorably.

Fifty percent (50%) of Democrats say the FBI’s recent raid on Trump’s home made them trust the FBI more, but 70% of Republicans say the Mar-a-Lago raid made them trust the FBI less.

Among unaffiliated voters, 46% say the raid on Trump made them trust the FBI less, while 18% said it made them trust the FBI more and 29% say the Trump raid did not make much difference in their trust in the FBI.

Clearly, Attorney General Merrick Garland, whose Department of Justice sent FBI flying monkeys to raid Trump’s home, is engaged in a vendetta against the former president, while he all but ignores the damning case against Joe Biden’s crackhead son, Hunter Biden, and possibly “The Big Guy,” as well.

This is troublesome stuff from an FBI that has been under fire virtually from the moment Trump was sworn into office and has now kicked up its game as it continues its efforts to bring down the former president prior to the 2024 presidential election. That, or is The Hill’s Emily Brooks right in her assertion that the FBI has become the Republican Party’s “bogeyman”?

Needless to say, GOP rage against the FBI’s Mar-a-Lago raid continues — and it is justified — particularly given Trump’s willing cooperation with a secret June subpoena for documents and perhaps other materials. He reportedly cooperated “extensively,’ in June, yet two months later, after a weeks-long delay by Garland to approve the raid, agents descended on Mar-a-Lago with a list of documents perhaps initially missed, additional information, or both. Republicans have not been alone in their condemnation.

Georgetown University Law Professor and Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley on Wednesday tore into Garland and the DOJ over its duplicity in continuing leaks about the raid.

The latest leak suggests that the FBI acted on a subpoenaed security tape from outside the storage room at Mar-a-Lago. While the DOJ demands a total seal on the affidavit to protect the integrity of the investigation, these details continue to be selectively leaked.

In the meantime, Attorney General Garland has not taken even modest measures to assure the public that this is not a politically motivated investigation.

It is the leaking from the Justice Department that is fueling speculation. While Garland says that he is deeply concerned about people questioning the integrity of his Department, he has done little to quell such speculation or to address these concerns.

Memo to Emily Brooks: Does this sound like the stuff of “bogeymen”? Or was your piece simply another factless cheap shot against the Republican Party? Rhetorical question — the answer is obvious.

The latest leak suggests that the FBI acted on a subpoenaed security tape from outside the storage room at Mar-a-Lago. While the DOJ demands a total seal on the affidavit to protect the integrity of the investigation, these details continue to be selectively leaked…

— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) August 17, 2022

Brooks went after the GOP response to Biden’s ridiculously misnomered “Inflation Reduction Act,” as well:

The GOP is warning that the $80 billion funding boost to the IRS included in Democrats’ tax, climate, and health care package, which President Biden signed into law on Tuesday, will target middle-class Americans with an “army” of new enforcement agents.

Um, I’m good with “army,” considering that hiring an additional 87,000 armed agents would make the FBI larger than the Pentagon, State Department, FBI, and Border Control — combined.

And hilariously, Brooks obviously thought the following statement from Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel somehow made her case about GOP paranoia, apparently trying to hang the “bogeyman” thingy around McDaniel’s neck.

Biden and Democrats are out-of-touch and do not care about the pain and suffering they are causing Americans. Democrats celebrate raising taxes on families during a recession they created and weaponizing the IRS to target small businesses and hardworking Americans.

What part of Ronna McDaniel’s above statement was incorrect, Ms. Brooks?

More than 230 economists in early August sent a letter to House and Senate leadership arguing that the economy is at a “dangerous crossroads,” and that the “inaptly named ‘Inflation Reduction Act of 2022’ would do nothing of the sort and instead would perpetuate the same fiscal policy errors that have helped precipitate the current troubling economic climate.”

The politically-predisposed writer went on to present several other “examples” — none of which hold an ounce of water — in her failed attempt to dismiss legitimate concern about Garland, his out-of-control Justice Department, and by extension, the FBI, as nothing more than a “bogeyman” in the eyes of the GOP.

Complete and utter nonsense; complete and legitimate reason for concern.

Meanwhile, it’s a safe bet that it won’t be long before Joe Biden’s personal Gestapo plays its next card.

The bottom line:

So, where are we, as a nation? What has America become in the Age of Trump?

While Biden and everything he touches becomes a dumpster fire,  as my colleague Susie Moore observed, “It would be hard to argue that there’s a more polarizing figure in modern history than Donald Trump.”

He has his most devoted supporters and his most determined detractors. Over the course of the past seven years, we’ve largely divided ourselves into Trump camps – ya love him or ya hate him, and the people who feel the opposite? Well, they are the worst.

My article serves only as a perfect example of the above. As Susie pointedly said, “This is neither an indictment of Trump nor a defense of him. It’s an observation – and a reflection on us.”

Check out more of Susie’s “Moore to the Point” commentary, which aired on NewsTalkSTL on Friday, August 19th.

Have a great weekend, folks. Hell, maybe even try to forget about politics, for a while.