As the fallout continues over FBI director James Comey’s decision to go public with the discovery of emails that may or may not be related to Hillary Clinton, the evidence is growing that significant elements within the FBI are trying to get Donald Trump elected president.
Over the past week, rogue agents within the bureau have leaked to the press information about its investigation into the Clinton Foundation and according to a report in the Guardian, the culture at the FBI is so anti-Clinton that sources are calling it “Trumpland.”
See more news and opinion from Thom Hartmann at Truthout here.
We also now have confirmation that some of those same pro-Trump (or at least-anti-Clinton) elements within the FBI have had contact with the Trump campaign itself.
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Trump surrogate, appears to have admitted as much yesterday morning during an appearance on “Fox and Friends.”
So not only do significant elements within the FBI have it out for one of our two major presidential candidates, they’re also apparently leaking important information about that candidate to her rival’s campaign.
The US deep state is now openly intervening in the final days of a presidential campaign.
Regardless of what you think about Hillary Clinton and the issues surrounding the Clinton Foundation and her use of a private email server while secretary of state, this politicization of our nation’s premiere and arguably most powerful police agency should trouble us all.
We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.
As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.
Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.
As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.
At Truthout, we are reaffirming our commitments on this front: We won’t run ads or have a paywall because we believe that everyone should have access to information, and that access should exist without barriers and free of distractions from craven corporate interests. We recognize the implications for democracy when information-seekers click a link only to find the article trapped behind a paywall or buried on a page with dozens of invasive ads. The laws of capitalism dictate an unending increase in monetization, and much of the media simply follows those laws. Truthout and many of our peers are dedicating ourselves to following other paths – a commitment which feels vital in a moment when corporations are evermore overtly embedded in government.
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