Destroying, suppressing evidence is FBI standard procedure

Congressional investigators were rocked this weekend when the FBI notified them that five months of text messages from a top FBI investigator into the Trump campaign’s Russian connections had mysteriously vanished.

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Conservatives are caterwauling about the vanished evidence but this type of tactic has long been standard procedure for the FBI. Acting FBI chief Patrick Gray was forced to resign in 1973 after it was revealed that he had burned incriminating evidence from the White House in his fireplace shortly after the Watergate break-in by Nixon White House “plumbers.”

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The FBI has a long history of “losing” evidence that would tarnish its halo. And for most of the agency’s history, judges and Congress have let the FBI sweep its dirt under the rug.

In the Ruby Ridge case, when an FBI sniper gunned down an Idaho mother holding her baby in 1992, the chief of the FBI’s Violence Crimes division was sent to prison for destroying evidence.

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The FBI suppressed mounds of evidence regarding its final assault on the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas, on April 19, 1993.

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The FBI deceived Congress and a federal judge by withholding information that it had six closed-circuit television cameras monitoring the Davidians’ home throughout the siege. The resulting films could have the key information that could resolve the major issues of Waco but the FBI withheld the tapes for years, until they were impounded by U.S. marshals.

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FBI evidence shenanigans destroyed the prosecution of Cliven Bundy, the Nevadan rancher who was involved in a high-profile standoff with federal agents in 2014.

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Evidence disposal is no problem for politically-favored targets of FBI investigation. A month before the 2016 election, Americans learned that the FBI agreed to destroy the laptops of top Hillary Clinton aides after a limited examination of their contents (including a promise not to examine any emails or content after January 31, 2015) in its investigation of Hillary Clinton’s private email server.

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Will the FBI face any consequences for its latest lost evidence debacle? In our high-tech era, it is no longer necessary to toss damning evidence into a fireplace. “Software upgrades” sounds so innocuous that only conspiracy theorists could wonder about missing smoking guns. But the FBI is no closer to being compelled to operate openly than when Patrick Gray ignited those White House files.

thehill.com...

Waco was my first foray into the conspiracy theory world.

As this article shows, in that situation and many more, the FBI has been willing to destroy or withhold evidence that would make them look bad.

This losing of the texts messages from Strzok is not an exception, it is standard procedure at this point for an agency that feels it is above rules.

This is also why the FBI routinely stonewalls oversight and refuses to hand over info or lies about not having it.

Regardless of how the situation regarding the FBI and their investigations into trump and hillarys teams play out, there needs to be some serious changes if anyone is going to have even a shred of trust in the FBI moving forward.

Nothing more than Congress and the Senate's personal protection program.

What a disgrace.

originally posted by: Grambler


As this article shows, in that situation and many more, the FBI has been willing to destroy or withhold evidence that would make them look bad.

Well, you have the right to remain silent.

That's how the FBI remains silent, by removing all "speech" that might incriminate it in a court of law.

You can do the same.

Wasn't there a fire at one of the Clinton's houses recently? Maybe they were destroying more evidence.

a reply to: AMPTAH

How do you remain silent when they record everything? They never lose those records by the way.

a reply to: Grambler

The FBI has been the "secret police" of administrations for decades.

The only difference now is that the "secret police" don't like the current president.

Disgusting.

Do you think it will ever change? I don't have any hope.

a reply to: Grambler

It's kind of sad really.

I thought they (FBI) is what made this Republic great.

How they prided themselves on not having an agenda.

It makes me furious.

When is somebody getting locked up ?

originally posted by: SkeptiSchism
Wasn't there a fire at one of the Clinton's houses recently? Maybe they were destroying more evidence.

A fire in the Secret Service building on the grounds from what I heard.

Hmmm.

anyone who has ever experienced the criminal justice system knows how corrupt it is

originally posted by: whyamIhere
It's kind of sad really.

I thought they (FBI) is what made this Republic great.

How they prided themselves on not having an agenda.

It makes me furious.

When is somebody getting locked up ?

I've been saying that since the bailouts in 2008 when banks were allowed to commit fraud on the entire nation, destroy property titles to 60 million homes and get rewarded in the process.

originally posted by: toysforadults
anyone who has ever experienced the criminal justice system knows how corrupt it is

Absolutely, it really is one-off those entities that you have deal with personally to see the blatant corruption, and until you do experience it yourself it's perfectly understandable to be skeptical about the corruption.

This is why honestly don't understand why people who are rabidly anti trump act as though the F.b.i is absolutely beyond reproach. They have a history of politically motivated graft and subversion. Its literally documented, it's not a conspiracy theory.
Now you have what seems to be an agent texting about insurance policies and worrying about messages being traced/recorded, Mueller's relationship with various Clinton foundation entities. This entire "independent" council fiasco stinks so much I doubt even a 100% democrat senate will take any recommendation to impeach seriously , if it comes to that.