President Donald Trump could still do a number of things to thwart the investigation into his presidential campaign's alleged collusion with the Russian government.
As Matthew Gertz of Media Matters pointed out:
Trump foreshadowed the possibility that he would pursue at least some of these goals in both remarks to reporters and a speech he delivered at the FBI National Academy graduation.
"Well, it's a shame what's happened with the FBI," Trump told reporters prior to the departure of Marine 1. "But we're going to rebuild the FBI. It will be bigger and better than ever."
He added, in reference to text messages from two FBI employees working on special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation that appeared biased against Trump, "it is very sad when you look at those documents. And how they've done that is really, really disgraceful, and you have a lot of very angry people that are seeing it. It's a very sad thing to watch, I will tell you that."
During his speech to the FBI National Academy, Trump emphasized that he would be "loyal" to America's law enforcement community. Trump is believed to have asked former FBI Director James Comey for "loyalty" during one of their private meetings.
Trump told the FBI National Academy graduates that "with me as your president, America's police will have a true friend and loyal champion in the White House – more loyal than anyone else can be."
Some prominent conservatives have joined Trump's call to discredit or even punish law enforcement officials for investigating the president's potentially illegal activities with Russia.
"Forget about the FBI investigation into Clinton and Trump being compromised by these conflicts. I think the FBI has been compromised," Tom Fitton, president of the conservative activist group Judicial Watch, told Fox News on Wednesday. "Forget about shutting down Mr. Mueller. Do we need to shut down the FBI because it was turned into a KGB-type operation by the Obama administration?"
Last week Judge Jeanine Pirro called for a "cleansing" of the FBI.
"There is a cleansing needed in our FBI and Department of Justice — it needs to be cleansed of individuals who should not just be fired, but who need to be taken out in cuffs!" Pirro proclaimed on Fox News.
She added, "Handcuffs for Andrew McCabe, deputy director of the FBI. The man at the hub, protecting Hillary and attempting to destroy Trump."
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