So the FBI is being blamed for dropping the ball on the FL shooter....

[getagrip_already]

Ok, they did. But calling on Wrey to resign is disengenuous.

The FBI, as an organisation, has been attacked by Trump and the right wing wurlitzer machine for the past year. Trump has left positions unfilled. Staff cuts have resulted. Leadership has been shredded. Hacks are being inserted where seasoned FBI staffers should be. US Attorneys are being appointed with no qualifications other than they back trump. Morale is terrible.

In short, the FBI is being dismantled.

Of course they can't do their job. That's the intention of the white house.

So if you want someone to resign, it should be Trump, not Wrey.

[jberryhill]

1. What were they going to do with that ball?

The shooter wasn’t doing anything illegal in the first place.

[karynnj]

16. Great question for the right wing

I seriously doubt they favor confiscating the guns of obviously troubled angry people ... which, in conjuction with adding the names of these people to a registry where they could not buy more guns might be the way to make it harder, but still not imposdible, for this kid to have been stopped.

Note, this would not be legal AND is exactly the right wing accusation that people will take their guns.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. They don't want to talk about guns, either.

Granted, whoever got the tip should have passed it on to the Miami field office, and they need to examine their procedures to be sure this sort of information doesn't fall through the cracks again. However, if it had been passed on, what would Miami have done with it? The FBI has jurisdiction over only federal crimes or crimes that occur across state lines. The tipper apparently said Cruz was a weird, creepy guy who liked guns and knives and talked about killing. If that tip did not suggest he had committed or was likely to commit a crime within their jurisdiction, what would the FBI have done with the tip? They'd have passed it on to the local cops - who already knew about him because they'd received some 30 complaints about his behavior.

And what could they have done? Nothing, unless he'd made a specific threat against a specific person or persons, or if he'd threatened suicide. In those cases a person can be taken into custody, but not otherwise. He bought the gun legally, so they couldn't have confiscated it. They weren't going to follow him every minute. Maybe they could have warned the school to look out for him, but it sounds like the school already was aware that he was a problem.

Blaming the FBI or local law enforcement isn't just an excuse to pick on Wray; it's a matter of looking for a scapegoat so they don't have to talk about guns.

[yardwork]

7. Exactly. The local cops knew all about Cruz.

[tymorial]

3. No they didn't

You can't lock someone up for suspicion. This is misdirection from the real problem, guns.

[C_U_L8R]

4. More Republican over-reach

They are so fucking dumb and transparent. Just shut up.

[ooky]

10. Yup. Fox News has seized it as a key talking point already.

Pam Bondi appeared on Fox News all teary eyed blaming the FBI. She should resign for selling her Florida constituents down the river for Trump donations to her campaign. I expect the NRA is preparing another check for her. She is a horrible person.

[yardwork]

5. So you're saying that the FBI might be important after all?

I think that's the best response. Ask them if this means that the FBI's investigative work is important after all?

[GoCubsGo]

14. Also ask them if they think the local authoriteis dropped the ball, as well.

It's hilarious that the crowd that loves to scream about "federal government overreach" is giving a pass to the local cops here. This is more their screw-up than anything.

[JDC]

6. It's a deflection from the real problem.

and, in their mind, further advances the Trump/Russian defense.

It's a two-fer for the RW echo chamber.

[TrishaJ]

8. Be prepared for everytime something like this

happens, the FBI will be targeted. This is the Trump strategy, to continue to attack the FBI and chip away at the credibility of the brave Americans who work to keep us safe. It's all in the effort to discredit the FBI in terms of the Russian treason investigation.

on edit: I noticed that this was the big "breaking news" yesterday (FBI fails America) until the Mueller indictments were announced, which blew that talking point off the air.

[getagrip_already]

12. Well, it's an old and successful tactic...

Defund education, then blame failing schools and move money to private schools

Eviscerate the EPA, put clowns in charge of water supplies, and then blame EPA for lead in the flint water supply

Break the transportation department, then blame them when an accident occurs

And on, and on, and on.

Break government systems and then blame and privatize them when they fail.

[bitterross]

9. Now, there are so many violent, racist rants online, how do they know which to pursue?

Two things.

1. 45 and Sessions removed domestic terrorism as a priority for the FBI
2. 45's support of Nazis and white supremacists has emboldened them to the point it has to be difficult for the FBI to keep up with it all and to determine which of the many is going to actually act.

[Clarity2]

11. I would bet Trump called his loyalist Rick Scott on the phone

and told him what to say.

There are multiple branches of the FBI in FL. I imagine one or more of them were contacted. They would be responsible for anyone dropping the ball. The information would have never worked its way up to Wray.

[getagrip_already]

13. and of course it was on the front page...

of faux news website this morning. The indictments? A little tiny vid clip with no commentary, outrage, or actual news.

Even the cruise ship brawl got a prominent box, thiough the fbi allegations got the big box.

Coincidence?

[getagrip_already]

15. and so he uses this as an attack on himself.....

cowardly asshat.