President Donald Trump has been discussing the possibility of firing both FBI Director Chris Wray and Attorney General William Barr with top White House advisers because both men have failed to deliver damaging information on Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden or his son, Hunter, according to The Washington Post:
“People familiar with the discussions say Trump wants official action similar to the announcement made 11 days before the last presidential election by then-FBI Director James B. Comey, who informed Congress he had reopened an investigation into Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was secretary of state after potential new evidence had been discovered.”
The president hinted that he was unhappy with AG Barr in a recent interview broadcast on Fox News, remarking:
“We’ve got to get the attorney general to act … This is major corruption, and this has to be known about before the election.”
With the election now less than two weeks away, national and battleground polls show Trump trailing Biden by a significant margin, so the incumbent president is desperate for something that could potentially reshape the narrative in the finals days of the campaign, much the same as the Comey announcement caused voters to doubt casting a ballot for Clinton in 2016:
“Polling data shows Comey’s late-October announcement four years ago cut significantly into Clinton’s lead over Trump. Yet while Trump may be hoping for a similar surprise from within his administration now, senior FBI officials are wary of repeating moves that were sharply criticized as unfair and inappropriate.”
Trump had been hoping that the investigation being conducted by U.S. Attorney John Durham into the origins of the Russia investigation conducted by former Special Counsel Robert Mueller would provide ammunition he could use against Biden, but Barr has now made it clear that report won’t be released until long after Election Day, which has reportedly left Trump frustrated, the Post notes:
“(The president) was so focused on the Durham report that he would turn up the television volume when segments would air about it, people around him said. Trump has told allies that he once believed Barr would deliver ‘scalps’ in the form of Durham’s findings, according to an adviser who recently spoke to Trump about it. ‘But they aren’t doing s—,’ the president said, according to this person.”
The only scalp that appears to be in the offing with the final debate set for later this evening is none other than Donald Trump’s.
Featured Image Via NBC News
