Andrew Weissmann

To me, that is one of the things that we have to think about.

How are we going to deal with this, especially in a media environment where we really cannot count

on the truth will out, that the answer to false speech is just more true speech.

So he has denied that, and he has sued The Atlantic.

And I know this is easy for me to say, but I actually would love to see The Atlantic ask for an immediate trial so that the public can hear the truth.

And if it turns out what The Atlantic says is true, then it will really both call Kash Patel's bluff,

And it will also put an end to this kind of tactic by the administration of fighting news organizations simply because they don't like what's being said.

I'm not aware of any.

Polygraphing and doing an investigation would be appropriate, and I'm enough of a sort of former government lawyer, if we were talking about the revelation of classified information, or if there was an ongoing criminal investigation and there was a concern about somebody at the FBI leaking that information.

But for just personal derogatory information, do we have adults in the room who have a thick skin and keep their mind on the ball, who are focusing on what it takes to keep this country safe?

I mean, being head of the FBI,

is a job that requires you to be present, if not physically, to be available and ready 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

When I was the general counsel, I have never, ever worked harder, and it was my privilege and obligation to do so.

There is the potential for abuse, and there's no doubt that if there is some weapon lying about, like a Chekhov gun, that Donald Trump or people like him will be tempted to use it.

We are witnessing, in my view, a series of retributive indictments and the weaponization of the Department of Justice in

the grossest way.

And just to be clear, Terry, as you noted, I've worked in the Department of Justice for 21 years with Republican and Democratic administrations.

And I've never seen that in any of those administrations.

There just wasn't that directives coming from the White House to the Department of Justice.

But I do think that one of the forums that I think has held up well and is one of the few forums that we have right now in our system is the court system.