Trump Is Weeding Out Candidates for Intelligence and Law Enforcement Jobs By Asking if Jan. 6 Was an ‘Inside Job’: Bombshell Report
(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
A bombshell report from The Washington Post alleges that the Trump administration is using questions about whether the January 6 Capitol riot was an “inside job” the 2020 election was “stolen” to weed out candidates for top intelligence and law enforcement jobs.
From the Post:
Candidates for top national security positions in the Trump administration have faced questions that appear designed to determine whether they have embraced the president’s false claims about the outcome of the 2020 election and its aftermath, according to people familiar with cases of such screening.
The questions asked of several current and former officials up for top intelligence agency and law enforcement posts revolved around two events that have become President Donald Trump’s litmus test to distinguish friend from foe: the result of the 2020 election and the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol, according to the people, who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity.
These people said that two individuals, both former officials who were being considered for positions within the intelligence community, were asked to give “yes” or “no” responses to the questions: Was Jan. 6 “an inside job?” And was the 2020 presidential election “stolen?”
These individuals, who did not give the desired straight “yes” answers, were not selected. It is not clear whether other factors contributed to the decision.
Similar questions — “Who were the ‘real patriots’ on Jan. 6? Who won the 2020 election? Who is your ‘real boss?'” — were also asked of at least two people interviewed for senior positions in FBI field offices near the capital, according to the Post.
Asked for comment about the allegations, White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly told the newspaper that “It is entirely appropriate that candidates for national security positions in the Trump administration align with President Trump’s agenda to put America First.”
Trump refused to accept the results of the 2020 election and promoted a number of debunked conspiracy theories about how it was stolen from him in the aftermath of his defeat. His efforts culminated in the January 6 Capitol riot, which he initially denounced, but later defended. On his first day in office, he offered pardons and commutations to over 1,500 people convicted of crimes in connection with the events of that day.
