Trump blasts the FBI minutes before major speech at the top law enforcement agency
- Trump lamented the state of the FBI shortly before delivering a speech at an FBI graduation ceremony on Friday.
- The president recently described the country's top law enforcement agency as "in tatters."
- On Friday, a White House spokesman said newly released FBI records show "extreme bias" against Trump among leadership at the FBI.
President Donald Trump lamented the state of the FBI, the nation's top law enforcement agency, shortly before delivering a speech at an FBI graduation ceremony on Friday in Quantico, Virginia.
"It's a shame what's happened with the FBI, but we're going to rebuild the FBI. It'll be bigger and better than ever," Trump told reporters before boarding Virginia-bound Marine One on Friday morning.
The president also recently described the country's top law enforcement agency as "in tatters," but a White House spokesman said on Friday that Trump has "full faith and confidence" in the rank-and-file members of the Department of Justice and the FBI.
Trump is attending the graduation ceremony of about 200 law enforcement leaders who took part in an FBI training program with the goal of improving law enforcement standards. The officers were trained in intelligence theory, terrorism and terrorist mindsets, law, behavioral science, law enforcement communication, and forensic science, according to The Associated Press.
Also on Friday morning, White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said that recently released FBI records show "extreme bias" against Trump among leadership at the FBI.
Recently disclosed text messages between two FBI agents assigned to the ongoing investigation into Russia interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion with Trump's campaign reveal that they made a reference to Trump as an "idiot." Other records reveal edits made to soften former FBI Director James Comey's statement concerning the agency's probe into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.
Gidley called the records "eye-opening" and "deeply troubling."
"There is extreme bias against this president with high-up members of the team there at the FBI who were investigating Hillary Clinton at the time," Gidley told "Fox & Friends" on Friday morning.