I FIND IT INTERESTING how Washington DC has its own version of the English language, especially with those involved in an investigation.
It occurred to me when I read that both the Department of Justice IG and the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) concluded that former Deputy Director of the FBI Andrew McCabe lacked candor – including under oath – on multiple occasions.
Lacking candor, to me, means he lied. And, surely the dictionary refers to being open and honest. And, honesty means free of deceit and untruthfulness.
The OPR stated, “all employees know that lacking candor under oath results in dismissal and that our integrity is our brand.” Former FBI agents being interviewed on TV have all said that was understood throughout the agency.
There were those “bleeding hearts” who called Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ decision to fire him, and therefore disallow his pension, as “cruel” and “mean-spirited.”
Former Attorney General Eric “Contempt of Congress” Holder said that it was done to “please an increasingly erratic president.” Certainly, the president wanted McCabe removed, but it was the non-partisan DOJ IG and the FBI OPR that cooked McCabe’s goose.
THROUGHOUT HISTORY, I imagine there are many examples of word manipulation, but one that is vivid in my memory was when President Bill Clinton responded to a question with “it depends on what the meaning of ‘is’ is.”
More recently, however, deep state individuals from the Obama administration have carefully selected words to protect someone. In July 2016, former FBI Director James Comey shocked everyone when he announced there would be no charges against Hillary Clinton, even though that wasn’t in his pervue to make that decision.
We know now that the statement that she was “grossly negligent” was softened to “extremely careless.” That was significant, because federal law states that gross negligence in handling the nation’s intelligence can be punished criminally with prison time or fines.
Then there was Comey’s testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee in June 2017 when he admitted that he questioned Attorney General Lorretta Lynch’s independence.
He cited a request by Lynch to use a blander term to publicly describe the Clinton e-mail investigation in the midst of the presidential election. “The attorney general had directed me not to call it an investigation, but instead to call it a matter.”
HILLARY THE WORDSMITH – Even Hillary, appearing on NBC’s Today Show in April 2016, referred to the investigation as a “security review.” When asked about that reference, Comey said the FBI doesn’t do security reviews.
With all of the attention given to the choice of words, it explains why President Obama hired Ben Rhodes to be his deputy national security advisor. Rhodes graduated from New York University with an MFA in creative writing.
“His (Rhodes’) lack of conventional real-world experience of the kind that normally precedes responsibility for the fate of nations – like military or diplomatic service, or even a master’s degree in international relations, rather than creative writing – is still startling.” – New York Times Magazine
“Words mean things,” I recall Rush Limbaugh saying countless times. He’s right.
