Latest news with #Feinberg
The Independent
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Trump's picks for FBI leadership have ‘no idea what they're doing' and are ‘playing dress up,' former staffer says
A former FBI staffer has told The Atlantic that President Donald Trump's picks to lead the nation's top law enforcement agency have 'no idea what they're doing' and are 'playing dress up.' Michael Feinberg, an assistant special agent in charge at the FBI's field office in Norfolk, Virginia, left the FBI after getting a call from his boss in late May about a friendship with a former agent who criticized the president. Feinberg, a 15-year veteran of the bureau, chose to depart from the agency rather than be fired. FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino became aware that Feinberg was friends with former counterintelligence agent Peter Strzok, who has long provoked the president's fury. Strzok was fired during Trump's first term after the Department of Justice released texts in which he spoke negatively about Trump, who attacked him for his work on the probe into Russian election interference in 2016. The connection to Strzok was sufficient for the bureau to cancel a promotion for Feinberg, he told The Atlantic. His boss indicated that he might be demoted and that he would have to take a polygraph test regarding the friendship. He chose to leave the FBI. 'I love my country and our Constitution with a fervor that mere language will not allow me to articulate, and it pains me that my profession will no longer entail being their servant,' Feinberg wrote in his resignation letter, according to The Atlantic. He has chosen to speak out following his departure as former colleagues at the bureau have asked him to, themselves fearing retribution. In an essay published by Lawfare early this month, Feinberg argued that the FBI is increasingly concerned with 'ideological purity and the ceaseless politicization of the workforce,' which 'makes us all less safe.' He joined the FBI in 2009 because he wanted to 'protect both United States interests in the world and the rule of law on the domestic front.' Feinberg speaks Mandarin and helped lead the bureau's probe into Huawei, the Chinese technology company, which the U.S. alleged was stealing trade secrets from U.S. firms. Following his departure, Feinberg is unsure if any senior counterintelligence officials speak Chinese at the bureau. 'It's particularly concerning to me, as someone who dedicated his professional career to combating the Chinese Communist Party and all of its tentacles, to see resources and efforts diverted away from hostile foreign intelligence services and other serious threats to the homeland to focus on minor immigration status offenses,' he wrote in his essay. Bongino and FBI Director Kash Patel became embroiled in the ongoing scandal about the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein earlier this month. They initially claimed that stark revelations would be made about Epstein and his connections to the wealthy and powerful. However, the Trump administration released a memo quashing the notion that Epstein had a client list and rejected any conspiracy theories surrounding his death by suicide in a Manhattan jail cell on August 10, 2019. Asked about the Epstein scandal, Feinberg told The Atlantic: 'They get a kick out of playing dress-up and acting tough. But they actually have no idea what they're doing.'
Atlantic
3 days ago
- Politics
- Atlantic
A Casualty of Trump's FBI Purge Speaks Out
Michael Feinberg had not been planning to leave the FBI. But on May 31, he received a phone call from his boss asking him about a personal friendship with a former FBI agent who was known for criticizing President Donald Trump. Feinberg, an assistant special agent in charge at the FBI's field office in Norfolk, Virginia, realized right away that he was in the crosshairs of the bureau's leadership at an unusually chaotic time. If his 15-year career at the bureau was coming to an end, he wanted to depart with at least some dignity rather than being marched out the door. By the following afternoon, he had resigned. The FBI has long seen itself as an organization built on expertise. Its founder, J. Edgar Hoover, was an early and devoted advocate of professionalizing the government bureaucracy, to the point of mandating that agents wear a dark suit and striped tie. Now, however, the bureau is in the early stages of something like a radical deprofessionalization. The most important quality for an FBI official to have now appears to be not competence but loyalty. The exiling of Feinberg and others like him is an effort to engineer and accelerate this transformation. Feinberg's boss, Special Agent in Charge Dominique Evans, didn't allege any misconduct on his part, Feinberg told me. Rather, as Feinberg set out in his resignation letter the following day, Evans explained that FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino had found out that Feinberg had maintained a friendship with the former counterintelligence agent Peter Strzok, a longtime target of Trump's ire. During Trump's first term, Strzok was fired from the FBI—and became a recurring target of Fox News segments—after the Justice Department released text messages in which he'd disparaged the president. Trump has repeatedly attacked him over his work on the bureau's 2016 investigation into Russian election interference (a topic of renewed interest for the president these days). The association between Feinberg and Strzok was enough for the bureau to cancel a potential promotion for Feinberg, he told me. Evans, Feinberg said, suggested that he might face demotion, and that he would soon have to take a polygraph test about his friendship with Strzok. He quit instead. (The FBI declined to comment on what it characterized as a personnel matter; when I reached out to Norfolk in hopes of speaking with Evans, the field office declined to comment as well.) Listen: The wrecking of the FBI In his resignation letter, Feinberg lamented the 'decay' of the FBI. 'I recount those events more in sorrow than in anger,' he wrote. 'I love my country and our Constitution with a fervor that mere language will not allow me to articulate, and it pains me that my profession will no longer entail being their servant.' Since leaving the federal workforce, he has decided to speak out—because, he told me, agents still at the bureau who fear retribution asked him to. Feinberg is now planning to spend time writing about these issues while he—like many other government employees forced out by this administration—figures out what to do next. In a recently published essay, he argued that the FBI has become obsessed with 'ideological purity and the ceaseless politicization of the workforce,' which 'makes us all less safe.' Feinberg's background is not that of an anti-Trump crusader. He was vice president of the Federalist Society chapter at Northwestern Law School, from which he graduated in 2004, and considers himself a conservative; today, he often uses the work of the conservative political philosopher Edmund Burke as a conversational reference point in discussions of politics. He joined the FBI in 2009, he told me, because he saw it as the 'best vehicle' through which he could help 'protect both United States interests in the world and the rule of law on the domestic front.' When he and I first met, sometime around the beginning of the first Trump administration, Feinberg was working on counterintelligence investigations against China. Such was his commitment to the job that he refused on principle to go visit the giant pandas loaned by the Chinese government to the National Zoo. Feinberg once trained as both a gymnast and a boxer, and still carries himself with a scrupulous economy of motion. He didn't talk about the details of his job much, but we turned out to share an interest in film noir and indie rock, subjects he approached with the same focus and intensity that he applied to matters of national security. I came to consider him a friend. At that point, he was already struggling to understand a conservative movement that seemed to have abandoned many of the principles that had attracted him in the first place. Trump, in his second term, has intensified his efforts to transform ostensibly apolitical institutions into tools of his own personal power. This is a dangerous strategy in whatever form it takes: Eating away at government expertise, whether at the National Weather Service or the Food and Drug Administration, places lives at risk. But Trump's personalist approach is particularly dangerous when applied to the agencies that can detain, prosecute, and imprison people. In a recent conversation, Feinberg recalled the sociologist Max Weber's famous definition of the state as the entity with a monopoly on the legitimate use of force. 'Organizations like the FBI are the tool by which that force is exerted,' he said. 'So you need them to be politically pure.' Otherwise, the risk grows that the government's violence will be brought down on people who are disfavored by those in power. The FBI does not have an impeccable track record in this area. In addition to his focus on technocratic institution-building, Hoover left behind an unsettled legacy of paranoia and bureaucratic power politics as well as a willingness to harass political enemies, from which the bureau has never quite managed to disentangle itself. Former FBI Director James Comey kept on his desk Hoover's approved application to wiretap Martin Luther King Jr., which the bureau planned to use as part of a campaign to drive the civil-rights leader to suicide—a reminder, Comey said, of what happens when those in power 'lack constraint and oversight.' Since Hoover's death, the FBI has built up thickets of procedures in an effort to avoid precisely this kind of political targeting. Yet an FBI without constraint or apolitical oversight is exactly what Trump wants, and what Bongino and FBI Director Kash Patel seem to be working toward. Trump launched his 2024 campaign by declaring to his supporters, 'I am your retribution,' and in their previous lives as MAGA influencers, both Patel and Bongino voiced support for locking up the president's opponents. Citing 'Justice Department sources,' Fox News recently reported that the FBI has opened a criminal investigation into former intelligence chiefs who led the government's assessment of Russian election interference in 2016. In the first Trump administration, such a blatant use of the FBI for political ends would have been an unthinkable breach of law-enforcement independence. But the FBI's new leadership has been pushing out many of those who might object. So many people have been driven away, in fact, that after his departure, Feinberg found himself adopted by what he calls an 'exile community' of former Justice Department and FBI officials working to help one another adjust to post-government life. Many have found support in the organization Justice Connection, founded by a longtime Justice Department lawyer to provide support for employees leaving the department. 'The sad thing,' Feinberg told me, is that these exiles began their government careers 'with the purest and noblest of intentions.' They're exactly the kind of public servants you'd want steadying the tiller at a time like this, and therefore exactly the people whom Patel and Bongino sought to be rid of. Others who have so far escaped notice are counting down the days until they can retire. Feinberg worries about how this attrition will affect the FBI's culture going forward. He worries about the dwindling number of FBI agents with solid values who are still trying to hang on. Without old hands around to voice principled objections, 'newer and younger employees are going to become acculturated to a politicized bureau,' he told me. 'That will seem normal to them.' New agents will also arrive at a bureau much more directed toward prioritizing immigration arrests. Feinberg spent the first few months of the second Trump administration as his office's acting head, struggling to manage resources after agents were pulled into assisting with ICE roundups. In one instance, Feinberg became aware of a request from an FBI agent to purchase face coverings. Anxiety was building among agents over rumors of immigration officials being filmed and doxxed on social media, and ICE employees had begun hiding their identities. Now it seemed that FBI agents in Norfolk wanted to follow ICE's lead. 'I was absolutely furious,' Feinberg told me. 'We live in a democracy. We are an organization that serves the public. We do not hide from our actions.' He conferred with others in the office's leadership, and they agreed to quietly prohibit office funds from being spent on masks. Brandon del P ozo: Take off the mask, ICE As we spoke, Feinberg emphasized that he didn't necessarily object to the FBI being involved in immigration enforcement. Every president, he said, gets to choose how to direct the bureau's priorities. The problem is the way the Trump administration has chosen to use the FBI: taking agents trained for complex investigations and having them stand around looking scary while ICE conducts immigration arrests. This overlap of the FBI and ICE not only wastes resources, but actively undermines the bureau's ability to investigate the very gangs that Patel and Bongino have said they want to tackle. Why, after all, would any Latin American immigrant agree to cooperate with the FBI on taking down MS-13 or Tren de Aragua, if reaching out to law enforcement might well get them deported? There is also the question of what leads won't be pursued because of this focus on immigration—and because the FBI's leadership has pushed out the experts who knew how to do such work in the first place. Feinberg, who speaks Mandarin, helped spearhead the FBI's investigation into the Chinese technology giant Huawei, which the U.S. accused of stealing trade secrets from American companies. Now that he's gone, he's not sure whether anyone working in counterintelligence at senior levels of the bureau knows Chinese. 'It's particularly concerning to me, as someone who dedicated his professional career to combating the Chinese Communist Party and all of its tentacles, to see resources and efforts diverted away from hostile foreign intelligence services and other serious threats to the homeland to focus on minor immigration status offenses,' Feinberg wrote in his recent essay. Earlier this month, Patel and Bongino found themselves tied up in the ever-widening Jeffrey Epstein scandal: Having hinted to the MAGA faithful at damning revelations only to come up empty-handed, they're now struggling to explain themselves. When I asked Feinberg about this, he sounded more exasperated than anything. 'They get a kick out of playing dress-up and acting tough,' he said. 'But they actually have no idea what they're doing.'
Business Wire
23-07-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Southern California Edison Announces Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program for Eaton Fire, Launching This Fall
ROSEMEAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Southern California Edison today announced the Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program that will offer a streamlined approach to quickly compensate those impacted by the Eaton Fire. Launching this fall, the voluntary, comprehensive claims program will provide direct payments and fast resolutions to eligible individuals and businesses. This includes owner and renter claims for total and partial structure loss, commercial property loss, business interruption, smoke and ash, physical injury and fatalities. 'Community members shouldn't have to wait for the final conclusions in the Eaton Fire investigation to get the financial support they need to begin rebuilding,' said Pedro J. Pizarro, president and CEO of Edison International, SCE's parent company. 'Even though the details of how the Eaton Fire started are still being evaluated, SCE will offer an expedited process to pay and resolve claims fairly and promptly. This allows the community to focus more on recovery instead of lengthy, expensive litigation.' SCE is working with Kenneth R. Feinberg and Camille S. Biros — world leaders in compensation fund design and administration — to consult on the design of this program. Feinberg and Biros have over 35 years of experience in mediating and resolving thousands of complex disasters and advocating for those impacted. This includes their work with the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 and the design of many similar programs. 'The goal for SCE's Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program is to model the program after several successful direct claims programs we have designed,' said Feinberg. 'These programs can quickly and fairly compensate individuals and businesses that have experienced losses resulting from these tragic events.' While Feinberg/Biros will continue to consult through the launch and implementation of the program, they will not be involved in the review of claims or program administration. Participation will be voluntary for community members, with no application fees, administrative costs or legal fees charged by SCE to participate. The program will be designed to easily, quickly and equitably compensate community members who qualify — including those with insurance and renters. Participation in the program is possible with or without an attorney. The program is expected to operate through 2026. More details on eligibility, documentation and residency verification requirements will be shared later this summer. As part of the development process, SCE will engage stakeholders, including plaintiff attorneys and elected officials, to gather input on the program before it is finalized. 'The architecture and timing of the SCE direct claims program will be instrumental in efficiently managing funding resources, mitigating interest costs and minimizing inflationary pressures so funds can address actual claims and fairly compensate community members for their losses,' added Pizarro. SCE has served the Altadena community for nearly 140 years and is investing in long-term infrastructure improvements. This includes plans to underground 63 circuit miles of distribution lines, evaluating an additional 19 miles and upgrading infrastructure to accommodate more customer demand. The company continues to deploy advanced grid technologies – such as automation to enhance equipment maintenance, isolate disruptions and restore service faster. These efforts reflect SCE's broader commitment to building a more resilient and reliable clean energy future. For more information on the program, click here. About Southern California Edison An Edison International (NYSE: EIX) company, Southern California Edison is one of the nation's largest electric utilities, serving a population of approximately 15 million via 5 million customer accounts in a 50,000-square-mile service area within Central, Coastal and Southern California.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Kendrick Lamar Was the Top Winner at the 2025 BET Awards
Kendrick Lamar was top winner at the 2025 BET Awards, held in Los Angeles Monday night. The rapper took home the awards for album of the year for GNX, best male hip-hop artist, video of the year for 'Not Like Us' and best collaboration alongside SZA for 'Luther.' Lamar also shared the award for video director of the year with his longtime creative partner Dave Free. More from The Hollywood Reporter Diddy's Ex Passed Out After Reading Cassie's Lawsuit Describing "Freak-Off" Orgies Questlove Remembers Sly Stone: "He Dared to Be Simple in the Most Complex Ways" Emmy Predictions via Feinberg Forecast: Scott Updates His Picks With Just Three Days Until Nominations Voting SZA and Chris Brown won best female and male R&B/pop artists, respectively. Doechii also won the award for best female hip-hop artist. During the latter's acceptance speech, the rapper called out President Donald Trump for the 'ruthless attacks that are creating fear and chaos in our communities in the name of law and order' amid protests against unlawful immigration raids in Los Angeles. Other winners included Leon Thomas for best new artist, Denzel Washington for best actor and Cynthia Erivo for best actress. Mariah Carey, Jamie Foxx, Kirk Franklin and Snoop Dogg were also among the honorees for the 2025 Ultimate Icon Award. Throughout the ceremony, GloRilla, Ledisi, Leon Thomas, Lil Wayne, Playboi Carti and Teyana Taylor were among those who took to the stage to perform. The night's presenters also included Annie Ilonzeh, Ashley Nicole Moss, Big Tigger, Busta Rhymes, Cam Newton, Ciara, Claudia Jordan, Crystal Renee, DC youngfly, Deon Cole, DeVon Franklin, Diamond White, Drew Sidora, Druski, Erica Mena, Erika Pinkett, Free, Julissa Bermudez, Kai Cenat, Keke Palmer, Ken Lawson, Keshia Chanté, Kerry Washington, Lala Anthony, Letoya Luckett-Coles, Mariah the Scientist, Marques Houston, Quinta Brunson, Stevie Wonder, Terrence J, Tichina Arnold, T.I.P., Tisha Campbell, Tyler James Williams, Tyler Perry and Xavier Smalls. A 106 & Park 25th anniversary tribute also featured performances by Amerie, Ashanti, B2K, Bow Wow, Jim Jones, Keyshia Cole, Mya and T.I., among others. Heading into the ceremony, Kendrick Lamar led with 10 nominations, followed by Doechii, Drake, Future and GloRilla with six nods each. Metro Boomin received five noms, while SZA and The Weeknd earned four each. The 25th BET Awards, hosted by Kevin Hart, were held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles Monday night. A complete list of this year's BET Awards winners follows. Drake and PartyNextDoor, $Some $Sexy $Songs 4 UChris Brown, 11:11 DeluxeDoechii, Alligator Bites Never HealBeyoncé, Cowboy CarterGloRilla, GloriousKendrick Lamar, (WINNER)The Weeknd, Hurry Up TomorrowFuture and Metro Boomin, We Don't Trust You Ari Lennox Ayra StarrCoco JonesKehlaniMuni LongSummer WalkerSZA (WINNER)Victoria Monét Bruno MarsChris Brown (WINNER)DrakeFridayyLeon ThomasTeddy SwimsThe WeekndUsher 41Common and Pete RockDrake and PartyNextDoor,FLOFuture and Metro Boomin (WINNER)Jaquees and Dej LoafLarry June, 2 Chainz, The AlchemistMaverick City Music SZA Featuring Kendrick Lamar, 30 For 30Doechii Featuring JT, Alter EgoTeddy swims Featuring Giveon, Are You Even RealDee Billz Featuring Kyle Richh, Kai Swervo, KJ Swervo, BeckhamLil Wayne, Wheezy and Young Thug, BlessFuture, Metro Boomin and Kendrick Lamar, Like ThatKendrick Lamar and SZA, Luther (WINNER)Tyler, The Creator Featuring Glorilla, Sexxy Red and Lil Wayne, StickyThe Weeknd Featuring Playboi Carti, Timeless Cardi BDoechii (WINNER)Doja CatGloRillaLattoMegan Thee StallionNicki MinajRapsodySexxy Red BigXThaPlugBossMan DlowBurna BoyDrakeFutureKendrick Lamar (WINNER)Key GlockLil WayneTyler, The Creator Key Glock, 3AM in ToKEYo Shaboozey, A Bar Song (Tipsy) Kehlani, After HoursDoechii, Denial is a RiverDrake, Family MattersKendrick Lamar, Not Like Us (WINNER)The Weeknd Featuring Playboi Carti, TimelessFuture, Metro Boomin Travis Scott and Playboi Carti, Type Shit Anderson .PaakB Pace Productions and JacqueesBenny BoomCactus JackCole BennettDave Free and Kendrick Lamar (WINNER)Dave MeyersFoggierawTyler, The Creator 41Ayra StarrBigXThaPlugBossMan DlowDee BillzLeon Thomas (WINNER)October LondonShaboozeyTeddy Swims Common and Pete Rock Featuring Jennifer Hudson, A God (There Is)Pastor Mike Jr., AmenFridayy, Better DaysYolanda Adams Featuring Sir The Baptist and Donald Lawrence, Church Doors (Terry Hunter Remix)Maverick City Music, Jordin Sparks, Chandler Moore and Anthony Gargiula, ConstantTamela Mann, Deserve to WinRapsody, FaithGloRilla Featuring Kirk Franklin, Maverick City Music, Rain Down on Me (WINNER) Chris Brown, Residuals (WINNER)Doechii, Denial is a RiverDrake, NokiaFuture and Metro Boomin Featuring Kendrick Lamar, Like ThatGloRilla, TGIFKendrick Lamar, Not Like UsKendrick Lamar and SZA, LutherLatto, Brokey Mary J. Blige, Beautiful PeopleBeyoncé Featuring Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy and Reyna Roberts, BlackbirdDoechii, BloomTems, BurningCynthia Erivo Featuring Ariana Grande, Defying GrafitySummer Walker, Heart of a woman (WINNER)Tems, Hold onFLO and GloRilla, In My Bag Bad Boys: Ride or DieBeverly Hills Cop: Axel F (WINNER)Mufasa: The Lion KingOne of Them DaysRebel RidgeThe Piano LessonThe Six Triple Eight Aaron PierreAldis HodgeAnthony MackieColman DomingoDenzel Washington (WINNER)Jamie FoxxJoey Bada$$Kevin HartSterling K. BrownWill Smith Andra DayAngela BassettCoco JonesCynthia Erivo (WINNER)Keke PalmerKerry WashingtonQuinta BrunsonViola DavisZendaya Akira AkbarBlue Ivy Carter (WINNER)Graceyn 'Gracie' HollingsworthHeiress HarrisMelody HurdThaddeus J. MixsonTyrik JohnsonVanVan A'ja WilsonAngel Reese (WINNER)Claressa ShieldsCoco GauffDawn StaleyFlau'Jae JohnsonJuju WatkinsSha'carri RichardsonSimone Biles Aaron JudgeAnthony EdwardsDeion SandersJalen Hurts (WINNER)Jayson TatumLebron JamesSaquon BarkleyStephen Curry Best of The Hollywood Reporter Most Anticipated Concert Tours of 2025: Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar & SZA, Sabrina Carpenter and More Hollywood's Most Notable Deaths of 2025 Hollywood's Highest-Profile Harris Endorsements: Taylor Swift, George Clooney, Bruce Springsteen and More
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
BET Awards 2025: Snoop Dogg, Keke Palmer, Tyler Perry and More Stars Walk the Carpet
The stars were out in Los Angeles Monday night for the 2025 BET Awards. Host Kevin Hart, Snoop Dogg, Keke Palmer, Tyler Perry, Doechii, Machine Gun Kelly, Jordin Sparks, Shaboozey, Andra Day and Ashanti were among the celebrities who walked the red carpet ahead of the awards ceremony at the Peacock Theater. More from The Hollywood Reporter Diddy's Ex Passed Out After Reading Cassie's Lawsuit Describing "Freak-Off" Orgies Questlove Remembers Sly Stone: "He Dared to Be Simple in the Most Complex Ways" Emmy Predictions via Feinberg Forecast: Scott Updates His Picks With Just Three Days Until Nominations Voting Heading into the ceremony, Kendrick Lamar led the nominees with 10, followed by Doechii, Drake, Future and GloRilla with six nods each. Metro Boomin received five noms, while SZA and The Weeknd earned four each. Best of The Hollywood Reporter Most Anticipated Concert Tours of 2025: Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar & SZA, Sabrina Carpenter and More Hollywood's Most Notable Deaths of 2025 Hollywood's Highest-Profile Harris Endorsements: Taylor Swift, George Clooney, Bruce Springsteen and More
