Donald Trump and his pet attorney general, William Barr, have repeatedly attacked the FBI—even following the Justice Department inspector general’s conclusion that the investigation into Trump’s 2016 campaign’s Russia ties was not political—and the attacks could be having the intended effect. Next time there’s good reason to investigate someone powerful, the FBI might think twice, current and former officials told CNN.
“We're constantly told to be agile and use all the legal tools available to us,” an FBI counterintelligence employee told CNN. “But who is going to risk sticking their neck out now only to have DOJ chop it off?”
”These comments will have a chilling effect on the workforce,” a retired agent said.
That, of course, is what Trump wanted—along with delegitimizing the concerns about him, his campaign, and their ties to Russian election interference.