Democracy Now! "Instrument of Vengeance": Mehdi Hasan on How Trump & Kash Patel Could Weaponize FBI against Critics

Dec 2, 2024 | We speak with journalist Mehdi Hasan, founder and editor-in-chief of _Zeteo_, about the incoming U.S. administration and President-elect Donald Trump's picks for key roles, including lawyer Kash Patel to lead the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Trump reportedly considered Patel for FBI deputy director during his first term but dropped the idea after pushback from within his own administration. Hasan describes Patel as a "toady" whose threats against political opponents and journalists should be disqualifying, but that he aligns with Trump's goals of further politicizing the FBI. "He wants to use it as an instrument of vengeance."

Americans and their use of that disgusting word “freakin”! What they mean, of course, is f*****g! Both words are typical of American English. Nobody in his right mind would ever accuse Americans of being ‘refined’. That was the least important part of my criticism, of course. The important part is that American politics, which is both disgusting and corrupt, is coming over here. Keep American politics over there, across the Pond, where it belongs! – © Mark Alecander