Background: The Federal Bureau of Investigations began its existence with an order from the United States Attorney General Charles Bonaparte to establish an organization within the DOJ to investigate matters that its already established agents couldn’t deal with. These “special agents” would report directly to the Department's “Chief Examiner” who would, in turn, report to the AG.[1] From this beginning in 1906 would grow the Bureau of Investigation, which would become the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
J. Edger Hoover became the first Director of the Bureau of Investigation in 1924, following the Teapot Dome Scandal. One of his first acts was to fire the women agents in the agency as he “cleaned house” of all those who could be associated in any way with the bribery. He then spent the rest of his career attempting to put the agency in the best light while he picked the cases they would investigate and feed to the press the highlights of their successes. Many of those cases became fodder for Hollywood movies or television shows, always with the complete cooperation of the agency. He remained the director until his death in 1972. Along the way the FBI took on the mantel of the supreme law enforcement agency in America, although it was revealed shortly before his death that he had gone after “subversives and deviants” using tactics such as infiltration, burglaries, illegal wiretaps, planted evidence and false rumors leaked on suspected groups and individuals. He called Dr. Martin Luther King the “most dangerous negro in the future of this nation.”[2] It is said J. Edger Hoover remained director for so long because he was so highly respected. It is also said he remained director for so long because his political opponents feared the information, he had in his folders on each of them.
Today: With this as the historical background of the FBI should we be shocked to see the abuse of the agency as it strove to prevent the election of an outsider, or falsified evidence to further its investigations of people the leadership in Washington felt should not be allowed to govern? There is very little evidence in the history of the FBI to indicate it is a non-partisan organization. The real question - does its partisan allegiance shift from party to party as administrations change or does it, like J. Edger, keep files on everyone to use to protect what the agency believes is its self-interest?
From my lowly position it would seem those in authority of the FBI believe it is their job to protect those individuals who may be useful to them in future administrations, and the concept of political neutrality be damned.
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