On Saturday night, Donald Trump announced his plan to appoint Kash Patel as the FBI director, leading to immediate reactions from political and media figures. Experts expressed concerns that Trump wants to turn the FBI into a tool against his political opponents. However, this fear reflects a larger narrative from the right, who feel targeted by the FBI.
Critics assume the FBI has always been a legitimate law enforcement agency, only recently corrupted by politics. In reality, the FBI has historically been a weapon against political movements that challenge the establishment. Its creation follows a period of political violence in Europe, particularly from left-wing anarchists, prompting U. S. leaders to feel threatened.
Following the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901 by an anarchist, Theodore Roosevelt instructed Attorney General Charles Bonaparte to establish the FBI. However, Congress rejected the proposal, fearing it resembled a secret police force. Undeterred, Bonaparte created the FBI after Congress's summer break without their approval.
The FBI was not formed to combat crime but rather began operating immediately to target perceived threats to those in power, initially focusing on anarchists and later expanding to include antiwar activists during World War I. The agency evolved into a domestic intelligence service, engaging in spying and various methods of surveillance against groups deemed risky.
Over decades, the FBI continued to operate in ways that served the interests of the political elite, such as conducting covert operations to undermine political organizations and even attempting to blackmail prominent figures like Martin Luther King Jr.
While today’s FBI professes to disavow these past practices, it still engages in operations that appear to favor the political class. For instance, the agency has been criticized for running sting operations targeting vulnerable individuals, often leading them into terrorist plots.
These operations served to promote the perception of ongoing threats in the context of the post-9/11 "war on terror," and more recently, to support narratives around right-wing extremism during Trump's presidency. Critics from both sides fail to recognize that the FBI has consistently operated to benefit established political interests, a role it has played since its inception.
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