Trump to Bypass FBI for Transition Background Checks

The left clamors as President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team has decided to bypass FBI background checks for a few Cabinet picks, utilizing private companies for the vetting instead.

CNN reported that Trump and Republicans view the FBI vetting system as “slow and plagued with issues that could stymie the president-elect’s plan to quickly begin the work of implementing his agenda.” Trump allies hold that these intrusive background checks may turn up embarrassing information intended to be weaponized for political use.

The two picks that stand out the most are Matt Gaetz for attorney general and Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence, according to the various reports circulating the web.

Nonetheless, the president has the ultimate authority on nominations and decisions on whether to disclose intelligence. The latter has been the stepping stool for Democrats to allege foreign ties and national security concerns against their political adversaries here.

CNN claimed that these background checks adhere to “a long-established norm in Washington,” and the Trump team’s decision to bypass “reflects Trump’s deep mistrust of the national security establishment … the Deep State.”

Dan Meyer, a national security attorney in Washington, DC, told the outlet that the Trump team “doesn’t want harmony.”

[They] don’t want the FBI to coordinate a norm; they want to hammer the norm.

According to a leaked memo obtained by CNN, the Trump team plans to hire private researchers to move more efficiently through background checks. This is against the wishes of Democrats who wish to stonewall the progress of the 47th president.

Gaetz, for one, has run into issues with the Department of Justice and the House ethics committee relating to alleged sex trafficking. The DOJ ended up declining to charge Gaetz. As for the House ethics probe, it essentially ended after Gaetz resigned from his congressional seat this week. Still, some Republicans, particularly those sponsored by AIPAC, have urged for more to be done. Zionist outlets like The Wall Street Journal have also taken a hardline stance against the former Florida rep.

Meanwhile, Gabbard has been under fire for her actions abroad in foreign affairs. The Hawaiian Democrat is a strong voice against the wars in the Middle East, making her an easy target for the aforementioned ideologues within the GOP and the media.

In 2017, she met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, saying two years later he was “not an enemy of the United States” on MSNBC. In 2022, she also blamed the Biden administration for the invasion of Ukraine and truthfully asserted Russia’s security concerns with Ukraine becoming a possible member of NATO.

Those two sentiments of Gabbard take charge against the establishment left and the right, which news outlets will champion as a “threat to democracy” rather than a shift in foreign policy philosophy.

Trump can bypass the drama with Gaetz by ordering security clearance like he did with his son-in-law Jared Kushner. CNN reported that Trump had ordered clearances to approximately 25 individuals whose applications were initially denied.

Still, bypassing the vetting process won’t stop the FBI from requesting an investigation via the Senate. As it stands, professionals believe it would be hard to investigate without that much-needed permission.

The Trump transition team has not submitted the list of names and roles within the Cabinet for formal vetting but instead has focused on its own internal vetting. Outlets report that it could potentially delay the release of classified intel to the next Trump administration and, in turn, slow Trump’s resurgence.

Original report published by National File, LLC.