(IntegrityTimes.com) – The FBI’s current security clearance procedure involves asking employees if they support former President Donald Trump, reports have revealed. The top secret security clearance of a longtime FBI employee was revoked after the FBI found out about his pro-gun and pro-Trump views as well as his skepticism about COVID vaccines. During the process to renew the clearance, family and friends of the employee confirmed that he supported Trump and that he attended a January 6 rally.
The employee worked for the FBI for 12 years before his security clearance was revoked. The move prompted comparisons by reporters to the congressional hearings of the McCarthy era in the 1950s, in which individuals were asked if they were affiliated with the communist party. John Solomon, an investigative journalist, made this observation, asking if the current vetting procedure is “the New McCarthyism”.
Democrats have not forgotten the January 6 attacks. In June 2024, as Trump gave a speech near the White House, Democrats followed closely behind, carrying a mobile billboard highlighting the riots on a visit to Capitol Hill. Four Republican Senators who voted to convict the former president in his impeachment trial of inciting an insurrection announced that they would not attend the event due to “conflicts”.
The allegations against Trump resulted in attempts to have him removed from the ballot in several states, before the Supreme Court ruled that the former president can stay on the ballot. Concerns had mounted over whether Trump could legally be allowed to re-enter the White House following the insurrection-related claims.
President Joe Biden has already been criticized for the level of censorship and cooperation with social media companies regarding alleged misinformation relating to COVID-19. The revoking of the employee’s license, in part due to his skeptical views on vaccines, suggests that the FBI shares the same concerns about “wrongthink” regarding the pandemic.
Trump and Republicans have long accused the Biden administration of weaponizing the FBI and the justice system. Trump even claimed in May 2024 that the president and the Bureau had planned to assassinate him during a search of his Mar-a-Lago resort. Trump’s allegation against Biden was based on a boilerplate policy memo, and the FBI clarified that it followed the standard procedure of limiting the use of deadly force when it carried out the search in 2022.
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