Former Solicitor General Walter Dellinger warned Saturday that President Donald Trump is determined to destroy anyone and everyone in the ranks of the FBI, especially if they dare to conduct any other investigations into Russian interference with the 2016 or 2020 elections.
During an appearance on “AM Joy,” Dellinger, who served as who served as the acting United States Solicitor General and then as Assistant Attorney General, told host Joy Reid that Trump’s reaction to the report from Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his endless criticism of the FBI suggest a president who is willing to completely destroy the premier law enforcement agency in the nation:
“There is a long tradition of executive branch independence when it comes to carrying out criminal investigative functions without Congress interfering and saying ‘here’s who you should or should not be investigating’ But I don’t want to diminish, I think, how extraordinary and distressing the present moment is, because you have what we’re talking about now.”
This doesn’t bode well for 2020, Dellinger added:
“The fact that if there is Russian interference in the 2020 election, the attorney general has sent, and the president, have sent a message to anybody in counter-intelligence or FBI, if you start to investigate leads that show that the Russians are attempting to re-elect Trump you will find yourself investigated.”
As for Trump’s phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, Dellinger suggested that’s also a bad sign:
“And when you couple that with the shocking fact that the president of the United States refused yesterday to defend the United States by asserting to Vladimir Putin that he should stop doing this or pay severe sanctions, the combination of those is extremely distressing.”
Dellinger’s remarks led Reid to note:
“Indeed. Opening the door and warning the guards to stand down.”
The time has come to rid ourselves of this menace to the United States, and we can do exactly that in 2020. If Trump and his BFF in the Kremlin try to steal this election, we’ll put millions in the streets and make it clear that we won’t stand for tyranny.
Featured Image Via Imgflip
