Ford Saddles Up to Defend the FBI

Nothing Says Justice Like a Strongly Worded Letter

Well, folks, Nevada’s Attorney General, Aaron Ford, has mounted his high horse and galloped straight into the halls of justice—or at least into the business of writing indignant letters. This time, he and 19 of his fellow legal eagles have taken up their quills to demand that the Senate grill FBI Director nominee Kash Patel harder, lest the Bureau fall into the wrong hands (as if it ever strayed into the right ones).

With the noble determination of a man who just discovered his name misspelled on a coffee cup, Ford insists that the FBI must remain free from “political pressures or threats of retaliation.” It, of course, is a moving sentiment coming from a politician—an occupation not famous for its aversion to political maneuvering.

The letter from Ford and company expresses grave concern over rumors that Patel might be clearing house at the FBI. AHeads have already rolled, and the AGs suspect more might follow, perhaps with all the subtlety of a frontier saloon brawl.

They warn that firing thousands of FBI agents will have “disastrous effects on public safety” and leave America exposed to all manner of threats—fentanyl, cartels, terrorists, and, heaven forbid, crimes against American pocketbooks. One assumes this last concern arises from the recent national crisis of paying $12 for a fast-food combo meal.

Now, if you were to take all this at face value, you might believe the FBI to be a delicate institution, teetering on the brink of collapse, held together only by the unwavering courage of Aaron Ford and his merry band of AGs. But, as history suggests, the Bureau—an outfit known for surviving everything from Hoover’s secret files to the occasional overenthusiastic surveillance of about everyone—will probably endure.

Nonetheless, Ford and his colleagues from California to Vermont will not let that stop them from brandishing their legal swords to defend the agency. Because nothing reassures the American public quite like a group of attorneys demanding justice in the form of prolonged Senate hearings.