Day 1422: "Focus on our mission."

WTF Just Happened Today?

Wednesday, December 11, 2024

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1/ FBI Director Christopher Wray will resign at the end of Biden’s term. Wray’s resignation comes seven years into his 10-year term and follows Trump’s announcement that he would nominate loyalist Kash Patel to serve as FBI director. Although Trump picked Wray to head the FBI in 2017 after firing then-Director James Comey, Trump called Wray’s resignation “a great day for America as it will end the Weaponization of what has become known as the United States Department of Injustice.” Wray announced his plans at a town hall with the FBI workforce, telling employees: “My goal is to keep the focus on our mission — the indispensable work you’re doing on behalf of the American people every day. In my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the bureau deeper into the fray, while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we do our work.” (Associated Press / Washington Post / New York Times / NPR / CNBC / ABC News / Wall Street Journal / NBC News)

• 💡 Trump’s proposed agenda for his second term relies on authoritarian tactics, including loyalty purges, expanded surveillance, and militarized enforcement, threatening democratic norms and civil liberties. Trump’s plan includes reviving “Schedule F” to remove job protections for federal employees deemed disloyal, transforming the civil service into a politically driven operation. His mass deportation agenda would require paramilitary enforcement, creating a climate of fear and suspicion. Expanding presidential powers, Trump aims to use federal agencies, surveillance, and the military to suppress opposition, control regulatory bodies, and investigate rivals. These actions would fundamentally reshape the U.S. government, undermining its impartiality and risking authoritarian governance. (Mother Jones)

2/ Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is advocating for Trump to appoint his daughter-in-law as deputy CIA director so he can get to the bottom of the assassination of his uncle John F. Kennedy. Amaryllis Fox Kennedy is a former CIA operative who spent 10 years at the agency as an undercover agent. If named deputy to John Ratcliffe, Trump’s pick for CIA director, she’d be in a position to find out what the CIA knows about the assassination. Trump, meanwhile, has promised to release the last of the JFK assassination files, saying “I will establish a new independent presidential commission on assassination attempts, and they will be tasked with releasing all of the remaining documents pertaining to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.” (Axios)

3/ Trump nominated Kimberly Guilfoyle to be the U.S. ambassador to Gree...

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