FBI

With the recent investigations regarding Trump and the FBI it is best to wait until more information is available before drawing any conclusions but it brings up an important question. What happens if the FBI runs afoul of the law as happened when J. Edgar Hoover was in charge. It was only after his death that the extent of his unscrupulous activities became public. After that certain procedures were installed to prevent similar problems from arising. The FBI director was not to talk directly to the president. “Initial communications between the Department and the White House concerning pending or contemplated criminal investigations or cases will involve only the Attorney General or the Deputy Attorney General.” When Trump called Comey to a private dinner meeting he was not following these new rules and when Comey agreed to the dinner meeting he was not following the rules. It is possible that Trump being an outsider did not know about the rules regarding how he should communicate with the FBI head but Comey probably knew. In either case it demonstrates why the rules were put in place to avoid all of this controversy.