'There’s a lot of anger': FBI agents furious over GOP's assault on the agency that may damage it for years

Longtime FBI agents -- as well as other law enforcement officials -- are furious with the Republican Party over the release of a memo compiled by the office of House intel head Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) that attacks an ongoing investigation into the Trump White House, saying conservatives have done irreparable damage to the agency that has always been considered a bastion of rectitude.

According to the Washington Post, most agents at the FBI are attempting to keep their heads down and do their jobs, but they are growing increasingly upset with the GOP that seems hellbent on damaging the FBI's reputation in order to protect President Donald Trump.

Early Saturday morning Trump claimed the the much maligned memo "vindicated" him, before attacking the FBI investigation with the president writing, "The Russian Witch Hunt goes on and on. Their was no Collusion and there was no Obstruction (the word now used because, after one year of looking endlessly and finding NOTHING, collusion is dead). This is an American disgrace!"

The president's continuous assault on the investigation had previously aggravated FBI agents, many of them still loyal to fired FBI Director James Comey. Now, with the White House-approved memo released, many FBI investigators have had enough.

“There’s a lot of anger," said one official who wished to remain anonymous. "The irony is it’s a conservative-leaning organization, and it’s being trashed by conservatives. At first it was just perplexing. Now there’s anger, because it’s not going away.”

Following the release of the memo on Friday, newly appointed FBI Director Christopher Wray issued a video statement to agency employees encouraging them to keep at their jobs, saying, "“You’ve all been through a lot in these past nine months, and I know that’s been unsettling, to say the least. And the past few days haven’t done much to calm those waters. So I want to make sure that you know where I stand, and what I want us to do.”

On Friday, a former special assistant to Comey announced his resignation from the bureau with a scathing column in the New York Times that put into words what many agents are feeling.

"After more than a decade of service, which included investigating terrorism, working to rescue kidnapping victims overseas and being special assistant to the director, I am reluctantly turning in my badge and leaving an organization I love,” Josh Campbell wrote. “Why? So I can join the growing chorus of people who believe that the relentless attacks on the bureau undermine not just America’s premier law enforcement agency but also the nation’s security.”

With Campbell adding, "Political operatives are weaponizing their disagreement with a particular investigation in a bid to undermine the credibility of the entire institution,” another agent who spoke with the Post concurred, saying the FBI might not be able to return to its mission because, “this Pandora’s box of politics has been opened, and we may never get rid of it.”

You can read the rest of the report right here.