According to multiple high-ranking former federal law enforcement officials, the Department of Homeland Security –– at the White House's direction –– is doing all it can to consolidate power at the expense of other departments which are being pulled off of their central missions.
In interviews with NOTUS, former FBI, DEA and ATF officials claim that Attorney General Pam Bondi has become subordinate to senior Donald Trump adviser Stephen Miller and his demands to round up more and more immigrants.
According to those interviewed, they see an alarming trend developing.
"People who formerly worked at the agencies told NOTUS they see the coalescing of power at DHS as a way for Trump to cement his grip over law enforcement," the report states with one former FBI official explaining, "If you consolidate it, you only have to rely on one set of loyalists instead of 30."
One former ATF agent recalled, "We would get calls needing 20 people tomorrow, which sounds like nothing for ICE, but that’s like an entire field office. You would need to assign every special agent in a region to cover the ICE stuff. So then, no one is doing gun investigations.”
"Trump’s distrust of DOJ, which exploded during the criminal investigations into his conduct in 2021, has helped marginalize the department as he strengthens DHS, which in some ways has broader search and surveillance legal authorities," Jose Pagliery of NOTUS is reporting.
One ex-high-ranking FDEA official summed up what is transpiring by bluntly stating, "The issue is that Stephen Miller is basically bullying Pam Bondi. The DOJ has been weakened. She’s supposed to be the number one law enforcement officer in the United States. Stephen Miller is running around her in circles."
You can read more right here.