I had been working on several other topics for this blog when I learned about this news so I immediately shifted gears. The term of Robert Mueller, the longest serving FBI Director since J. Edgar Hoover, will end this fall and the Obama administration is assembling its list of possible successors. Rumor has it that one of the names being considered is Jamie Gorelick and if true, it would demonstrate a stunning lack of judgement even for this administration.
If the name Jamie Gorelick doesn't ring a bell, let me refresh your memory. Gorelick is a longtime Washington Democratic insider and political interloper who has moved back and forth between high profile government and private sector positions for years. As a Justice Department official, Gorelick was the co-author of a memo that resulted in restrictions known as "The Wall" which prevented government agencies from sharing information. As a consequence, the FBI and the CIA were unable to share critical intelligence regarding the activities of the 9/11 hijackers prior to the attack that may have helped our government "connect the dots" and quite possibly prevent the single largest attack against the United States since Pearl Harbor. The 9/11 Commission cited "The Wall" as one of the most significant factors contributing to the intelligence failures leading to 9/11.
If that isn't enough, Ms. Gorelick was a Vice Chairmain of Fannie Mae, the government-sponsored entity responsible to Congress for maintaining stability, liquidity, and affordability in the housing and mortgage markets. Under her leadership for which she received a reported $26 million dollars over a 4 year period, Fannie Mae was the subject of a multi-billion dollar accounting scandal that made it appear to be financially sound when in fact it was in serious trouble. Ultimately, these troubles contributed to the housing crash in 2006. Amazingly, Ms. Gorelick receive a nearly $800,000 bonus for her performance!
As a result of these two catastrophes, Gorelick has been dubbed "The Mistress of Disaster." Personally, if I found out that Jamie Gorelick was booked on the same cruise or flight as I was, I'd change my reservation. But don't misunderstand, I'm not saying she shouldn't be involved with the FBI. I just think she should be the subject of one of its investigations, not a candidate as its director.
I think you're spot on most of the time, but I believe that you've got the wrong end of the stick in this case. How can an emasculated, ineffectual, and incompetent FBI be a BAD thing for lovers of liberty.
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