And all in the name of terrorism. According to the Post, agents made up non-existent terrorist threats and emergencies in order to gain access to information that should have remained private. While the crimes didn’t rise to the level of the president or even to the director, it doesn’t make them any less offensive. The FBI has demonstrated that absolute power corrupts absolutely. This is why our founders designed a system of checks and balances. When Congress recreated the imperial presidency under George W. Bush, through the Patriot Act, and when they failed to properly exercise their oversight powers, they shirked their responsibility to the citizenry.
And so when Dick Cheney thinks it’s a mistake to give a defendant a trial by jury in a court of law, he demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of how that power corrupts absolutely. This is why President Obama is absolutely correct in doing his best to close Guantanamo, and to see that everyone gets a trial, not just the people who were caught red handed and confessed. Otherwise what would stop that same government from arresting you?