1. President Biden and his administration successfully negotiated the budget deal, with a closing vote in the House last night. After the threats you received from the far right, what is your takeaway?
Answer: The far right dragged the country to the precipice on this issue. The success of the Biden administration despite these strong-arm tactics stands as a repudiation of those who have sought to foment chaos as a route to power over the electorate.
2. And President Biden's administration accomplished it all without resorting to the 14th Amendment.
Answer: How about that? One of the many things I admire about President Biden is the manner in which he delivers over and above the public's expectations. We saw this with the Inflation Reduction Act as well. I think his ability to advance bipartisan agreements despite great obstacles derives from his long, successful career in the Senate. But then, too, President Biden's leadership style is unifying, and he has chosen a team which embraces the same philosophy.
3. Do you believe that President Biden can be a unifying Commander in Chief through a close examination of the crimes committed by the far right within the FBI?
Answer: Honestly, I feel that President Biden is the rarest of leaders in that I believe he will be able to guide us through these shoals. No one wants to have to publicly admit that some factions within our three-letter agencies have gone astray, have been corrupted, have assailed the American electorate. But if we can't find the strength to confront these truths, our democracy will be forfeit. So, we have to find a way.
4. And what is it about President Biden that makes you feel he can guide the country through this "insider threat" represented by the far right?
Answer: His judgement. His insight. His compassion. His determination to unify us as Americans. His strength as Commander in Chief.
And, frankly, he wouldn't be the gifted leader he is without eighty years of life experience.
I hope the country can come to understand that there is such a thing as a leader who becomes yet more capable with age.
President Biden exemplifies this ideal.
His courage is a beacon for our democracy. I want the American people to understand why.
5. In order for that to happen, they would need to understand the truth of the "insider threat" that stands in favor of autocracy.
Answer: Yes, they would. Do you know what President Biden did on the first day of his presidency, shortly after his inauguration? He rescinded permission for the CIA to be running drone missions out of North Africa without Executive oversight. President Biden was not going to serve as a figurehead as Commander in Chief. He took back the reins on day one.
This is a leader who knows what's going on in the world. And his Secretary of State in Anthony Blinken is also extraordinarily capable.
6. So you believe that the malfeasance of the far right within the FBI can be investigated without tearing the country apart.
Answer: President Biden will find the path. We first need to understand the truth of the malfeasance that has been committed within the FBI. Many people who are perpetrating the wrongs of the FBI's unconstitutional "target of interest" program are not happy about being forced to do so.
7. How do you know that?
Answer: Without compromising anyone, I will simply say that there are those who have apologized to me directly.
8. Not everyone is a Txx Lxxxx, in other words.
Answer: Most people are benevolent. And I believe that most Americans are big-hearted and courageous people who are capable of joining together to overcome formidable challenges.
What we find within the far right segments of the FBI right now is a system that is compromised, with components that span across multiple agencies and branches of the military. Institutional compromise at this level is harder to overcome. But it's not impossible.
If we gather our courage and determination together, we can accomplish this.
9. What are the greatest risks involved?
Answer: Right now, the greatest risks pertain to underestimating the determination of some individuals not to be publicly exposed. People of goodwill cannot readily anticipate the actions of those few who mean to cause disruption, division, or harm. So, it's necessary to be alert.
10. How is your health right now?
Answer: I'm already improving. Now that I know that I contracted a rare parasite through food or water exposure, I have been able to take some steps toward healing. I'm going to be fine.
11. How is your cat's health?
Answer: His beautiful Abyssinian heart is still beating.
12. Your cat saved your life more than once, so he's an unusual fellow.
Answer: Yes, he is. He's an American hero. The world just doesn't know it yet.
13. Do you wish to express your gratitude to those within the OIG Hotline and the ODNI who recently opposed the attempt by the far right to defame you online?
Answer: I do. These people have stood up for me when I have not been in a position to defend my own civil rights, and they have done so with great fortitude and insistence. My gratitude toward them is fairly limitless.
I want to return the favor by defending the civil liberties and human rights of others, if I am afforded that opportunity.
14. Is that your hope? To defend the human freedoms that are inseparable from our democracy?
Answer: Overwhelmingly so. I would like to make a meaningful contribution to the rights of mankind.
15. Are you being overly ambitious in this hope?
Answer: Probably. But I'm the possessor of a worthy dream.
16. Perhaps a few other people would like to make it a team effort.
Answer: I'm all in.
Lane MacWilliams
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The FBI is a deeply divided agency. There are many FBI employees who view their vows to the Constitution with the utmost seriousness and honor, and who strive to defend the fundamentals of our democracy with courage, fortitude and commitment. The fact that some segments of the FBI appear to have embraced a lawless course is not a justification to assail the FBI in general. As President Joseph R. Biden has so rightly expressed, violence is never justified in any circumstance. The rule of law must always be honored and upheld. It is our shared determination to preserve the civil liberties and human rights of all Americans that renders the United States a democracy. We must never abandon this promise. All of our most cherished freedoms depend upon it.
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