# Should there be laws for the FBI and law enforcement from making political statements of anger **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 13, 2018, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-there-be-laws-for-the-fbi-and-law-enforcement-from-making-political-statements-of-anger/817851 "2018-07-13T17:59:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2018, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-there-be-laws-for-the-fbi-and-law-enforcement-from-making-political-statements-of-anger/817851/21 "2018-07-13T20:03:22Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > Exactly. So what is your opinion about what the President publically says about the FBI? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2018, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-there-be-laws-for-the-fbi-and-law-enforcement-from-making-political-statements-of-anger/817851/22 "2018-07-13T20:07:24Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Maybe not, but their statements raised a reasonable apprehension of bias about their ability to do their duties objectively, so they’re off the case. > > Public servants have to be careful of the need to maintain the public confidence in government, and even their private statements, if related to their work, can undermine that confidence. > [@Silver\_lining](#): > > Exactly. > [@Czarcasm](#): > > So what is your opinion about what the President publically says about the FBI? I know you didn’t ask me, but I’ll answer: It has undermined my confidence in the President’s ability to complete his duties objectively. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2018, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-there-be-laws-for-the-fbi-and-law-enforcement-from-making-political-statements-of-anger/817851/23 "2018-07-13T20:18:05Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2018, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-there-be-laws-for-the-fbi-and-law-enforcement-from-making-political-statements-of-anger/817851/24 "2018-07-13T20:27:39Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > Exactly. So what are you complaining about, then? There’s no evidence the FBI’s investigation is not objective and fact oriented. When they found an agent’s personal political opinions were revealed publicly, they removed that agent from the investigation, as they should have. And the honorable and fact oriented investigation continues, most recently indicting several Russian agents who were in communication with Trump allies while hacking into the DNC. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2018, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-there-be-laws-for-the-fbi-and-law-enforcement-from-making-political-statements-of-anger/817851/25 "2018-07-13T20:43:14Z")
I will say one thing: based on yesterday’s hearing, if I were to compare the integrity of Peter Strzok with Trey Gowdy, I feel much better with Strzok being in the FBI than Gowdy being an Assistant U.S. Attorney. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2018, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-there-be-laws-for-the-fbi-and-law-enforcement-from-making-political-statements-of-anger/817851/26 "2018-07-13T20:53:28Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > I will say one thing: based on yesterday’s hearing, if I were to compare the integrity of Peter Strzok with Trey Gowdy, I feel much better with Strzok being in the FBI than Gowdy being an Assistant U.S. Attorney. Anyone here proud of Gowdy’s performance yesterday? ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2018, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-there-be-laws-for-the-fbi-and-law-enforcement-from-making-political-statements-of-anger/817851/27 "2018-07-13T21:00:38Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > I’m saying those conducting an investigation should not state their political opinions against someone with an ax to grind with co workers or other officials. > > If you for that, by all means say so. Actually, you should be encouraging more federal law enforcement to leave a digital paper trail of their inner thoughts. He gave Trey Gowdy and other GOP ghost whisperers something to use in their attempts to discredit the investigation. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2018, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-there-be-laws-for-the-fbi-and-law-enforcement-from-making-political-statements-of-anger/817851/28 "2018-07-13T21:01:59Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > I will say one thing: based on yesterday’s hearing, if I were to compare the integrity of Peter Strzok with Trey Gowdy, I feel much better with Strzok being in the FBI than Gowdy being an Assistant U.S. Attorney. It’s actually pretty frightening to know that there might be a federal prosecutor as blatantly dishonest and corrupt as Gowdy. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2018, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-there-be-laws-for-the-fbi-and-law-enforcement-from-making-political-statements-of-anger/817851/29 "2018-07-13T21:10:58Z")
> [@senoy](#): > > We talked about this. In the US, we have freedom of speech. If that freedom interferes with your work duties, then you can be fired. If it doesn’t, it’s your own business. I wouldn’t say that Strzok’s private texts aren’t problematic. They do show potential bias, which is a reason that Robert Mueller removed him from the investigation once the texts were discovered. A person can have their own private thoughts, but if those thoughts reveal potential bias, then that has to be addressed - and it was. The problem with Republican logic is that they want to suggest that a few texts discredit the entire investigation, which it absolutely does not. Nor does Strzok’s personal conduct, as inappropriate as it was, necessarily disqualify him from continued public service within the Bureau. > [@senoy](#): > > If you’re a member of the KKK and a cop, I really don’t have a problem with it. Well, I disagree. I do have a problem with it, and having an avowed white supremacist in a police agency is not remotely like what we’re talking about with Peter Strzok. In the case of the latter, it’s a matter of possible bias toward one individual. But a racist officer carries that bias into every interaction he has with members of the public. You can’t compartmentalize the two, and it’s naive to suggest otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![senoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@senoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/senoy)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2018, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-there-be-laws-for-the-fbi-and-law-enforcement-from-making-political-statements-of-anger/817851/30 "2018-07-13T21:28:24Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Well, I disagree. I do have a problem with it, and having an avowed white supremacist in a police agency is not remotely like what we’re talking about with Peter Strzok. In the case of the latter, it’s a matter of possible bias toward one individual. But a racist officer carries that bias into every interaction he has with members of the public. You can’t compartmentalize the two, and it’s naive to suggest otherwise. I’m not a fan of thought policing. Everyone has biases, it’s the nature of being human. It’s unfortunate, but true. I don’t care for punishing others for their opinions because you never know when your opinions are the next on the chopping block. It’s easy to say that a Klansman shouldn’t be a cop, but I could see that easily morphing into an NAACP member or an Orthodox Jew or any number of minority opinions (Not attempting to conflate the NAACP with the Klan, but I can see the same logic being abused against them.) If you can statistically or anecdotally prove bias, then the guy needs to go. If you can’t, then simply having the opinion should not be grounds for dismissal. ---
**Author:** ![JB99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/439d5e/32.png) [@JB99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JB99)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2018, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-there-be-laws-for-the-fbi-and-law-enforcement-from-making-political-statements-of-anger/817851/31 "2018-07-13T21:33:10Z")
The motto of the SS was “My honor is loyalty.” The point was that they conflated honor with obedience, no matter what. It didn’t matter what they personally thought. As long as they were obedient, they were morally right. So you tell me, OP… How long do you think it would take before someone is told to do something unethical or immoral, but they have to keep their mouths shut because they “aren’t allowed to make political statements?” I’m a government employee and I decided a long time ago that i would rather have my integrity. I refuse to be silent in the face of evil. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2018, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-there-be-laws-for-the-fbi-and-law-enforcement-from-making-political-statements-of-anger/817851/32 "2018-07-13T21:36:21Z")
> [@senoy](#): > > I’m not a fan of thought policing. Everyone has biases, it’s the nature of being human. Yes, but not everyone is an avowed white supremacist. Do you not understand the difference in degree? > [@senoy](#): > > (Not attempting to conflate the NAACP with the Klan, I don’t know if “conflate” is the right word. Maybe more like “false equivalency.” ---
**Author:** ![ohiomstr2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/82dd89/32.png) [@ohiomstr2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ohiomstr2)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2018, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-there-be-laws-for-the-fbi-and-law-enforcement-from-making-political-statements-of-anger/817851/33 "2018-07-13T23:20:29Z")
Not so certain that a couple of agents playing footsie with their agency issued phones constitutes a problem with the FBI as a whole. Every organization has a share of irresponsible employees I am certain that the agency has policies against prejudicing an investigation by any kind of unauthorized statement so a law prohibiting such statements by individual agents seems redundant and counter productive ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2018, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-there-be-laws-for-the-fbi-and-law-enforcement-from-making-political-statements-of-anger/817851/34 "2018-07-13T23:41:01Z")
One reason these whole thing is ridiculous is that most of the Republican leadership said far worse things about Trump up until the point that his nomination became inevitable. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2018, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-there-be-laws-for-the-fbi-and-law-enforcement-from-making-political-statements-of-anger/817851/35 "2018-07-13T23:44:20Z")
There should be laws for everything, until there is no more war, but peace. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2018, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-there-be-laws-for-the-fbi-and-law-enforcement-from-making-political-statements-of-anger/817851/36 "2018-07-14T01:10:15Z")
> [@senoy](#): > > I’m not a fan of thought policing. Everyone has biases, it’s the nature of being human. It’s unfortunate, but true. I don’t care for punishing others for their opinions because you never know when your opinions are the next on the chopping block. It’s easy to say that a Klansman shouldn’t be a cop, but I could see that easily morphing into an NAACP member or an Orthodox Jew or any number of minority opinions (Not attempting to conflate the NAACP with the Klan, but I can see the same logic being abused against them.) If you can statistically or anecdotally prove bias, then the guy needs to go. If you can’t, then simply having the opinion should not be grounds for dismissal. It’s legitimate to be a member of a legitimate group. Yes, in fact you **are** attempting to conflate the NAACP with the Klan. Klan membership by itself really is proof of bias. ---
**Author:** ![senoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@senoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/senoy)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2018, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-there-be-laws-for-the-fbi-and-law-enforcement-from-making-political-statements-of-anger/817851/37 "2018-07-14T01:49:40Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > It’s legitimate to be a member of a legitimate group. Yes, in fact you **are** attempting to conflate the NAACP with the Klan. Klan membership by itself really is proof of bias. The problem is that you’re defining legitimate and your particular opinion on what is or isn’t legitimate is not guaranteed to be popular opinion in the future. If you concede that speech suppression among public servants is a valid exercise of state authority, it makes it much more difficult to fight against it when the state decides it’s a “legitimate” group that needs to be silenced. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2018, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-there-be-laws-for-the-fbi-and-law-enforcement-from-making-political-statements-of-anger/817851/38 "2018-07-14T02:26:24Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > So what is your opinion about what the President publically says about the FBI? > [@Bricker](#): > > I know you didn’t ask me, but I’ll answer: > > It has undermined my confidence in the President’s ability to complete his duties objectively. You _had_ some? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2018, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-there-be-laws-for-the-fbi-and-law-enforcement-from-making-political-statements-of-anger/817851/39 "2018-07-14T02:38:22Z")
BTW, can somebody provide me with a pronunciation guide on “Strzok?” ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2018, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-there-be-laws-for-the-fbi-and-law-enforcement-from-making-political-statements-of-anger/817851/40 "2018-07-14T02:47:48Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > BTW, can somebody provide me with a pronunciation guide on “Strzok?” It’s pronounced “Throatwarbler Mangrove” Don’t blame me, you asked for it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-there-be-laws-for-the-fbi-and-law-enforcement-from-making-political-statements-of-anger/817851.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-there-be-laws-for-the-fbi-and-law-enforcement-from-making-political-statements-of-anger/817851.md?page=3)