Thread by @BradMossEsq

This piece is an exhaustive look into how cautious the FBI and DOJ have been in investigating J6, including even the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys. Internal checks worked: plans to just blow past the First Amendment were rejected. Doing the politically-controversial thing of going

https://twitter.com/washingtonpost/status/1670777304174276608

after Trump was something the Department avoided for over a year. Why? Not because the evidence was not there, but because they were all so traumatized from four years of Trump's assaults on the Department and conservative media's assaults on individual officials that no one

wanted to be the one signing off on the initial "yes, we have enough evidence to move forward" determination.

Maybe that caution is for the best. The one lesson from Crossfire Hurricane that I felt was legitimate was how certain officials, with the benefit of hindsight, jumped

the gun too quickly in opening a full-fledged investigation into Trump's connections to Russian interference. It doesn't mean an investigation was not warranted or that the charges that Mueller ultimately brought were not justified. But the initial predicate, in hindsight,

was a bit thin. Garland and Wray clearly have no intention of permitting a repeat of that mistake, and that's a reform to the DOJ and FBI that I hope continues forward.

Mind you, it's a reform I have zero reason to believe Trump or his allies would ever respect if they get

power again, but not much I can do about that.

/End