Opinion | The ‘Planted Evidence’ Lie

In a pathetic and predictable development, supporters of Donald Trump have lobbed an outrageous lie into the public arena. No, not the one about a stolen election. Another one. The FBI, they claim, “planted” incriminating evidence at Trump’s Florida home when they searched it earlier this week. That search, pursuant to a lawful warrant authorized by a federal judge, was executed by special agents in the FBI’s Miami Division. Lies for and by Trump are noxious, but they happen so frequently that we tend to ignore — in some cases — the harms they cause.

Traveling in Omaha, Neb., this week, FBI Director Christopher Wray (also predictably) was asked about the planted evidence allegation. I worked with Chris at the Department of Justice, respect him and like him. He is smart, fair and principled — a man of great integrity. But when he refused to address that lie, one that Trump himself is floating, he made a big mistake.

Of course, Justice Department and FBI officials cannot ordinarily comment on ongoing grand jury investigations. There are lots of good reasons for this rule — and it is a rule — including that it is patently unfair to criminal subjects to air investigative details in public short of charges in open court. Discussing ongoing cases also can tip off other bad guys and lead to bad outcomes, such as threats to witnesses and the destruction of evidence.

But the FBI director did not have to comment about the Trump case to rebut the “planted” evidence fib. He could have said something like:

I will not address the details of this investigation — or any other. But I will defend the men and women of the FBI against disgraceful lies. Everyone in this great organization took an oath — as I did — to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. We uphold the law, always and everywhere. That ethos is in the marrow of our bones. The allegation that FBI special agents planted evidence at this search — or any search — is dishonest and contemptible.

I spent most of my professional career in federal law enforcement, including two stints at the FBI. Am I biased in its favor? Absolutely. But I believe to my core that it is inconceivable the FBI would have planted evidence at Mar-a-Lago. That is not the way it operates, that is not the FBI I know and admire, and it did not happen. How certain am I? Pretty damn certain. Might I be wrong? I often am, but not on this.

What harms do these lies cause? These lies undermine the work of the FBI, the morale of the professionals at the FBI and the confidence of citizens in the remarkably important mission of the FBI. Remember, it was only 18 months ago that two FBI special agents in Miami were shot and killed in the line of duty. You may have forgotten that. I assure you that their colleagues in Miami and around the world have not.

Is there any value to Wray categorically denying the “planted” evidence accusation? At the very least, it would support the Miami agents who executed the search, 13,000 other FBI special agents and the remaining 24,000 professionals who work for the FBI in hundreds of offices, small and large. Is it useful to anyone else? Yes. It is the type of thing that the press and the public should hear, too, because agents did not plant evidence.

Would it make a difference? To Trump supporters and enablers, that seems unlikely. To the folks who work for the FBI? Absolutely. They know their leader cannot change the world, just as they know that their work will be disparaged by dark forces that do not want them to succeed. But they do expect Wray to defend them and their FBI against loathsome lies. That is not an unreasonable expectation.

The Irish satirist Jonathan Swift noted that “falsehood flies and truth comes limping after it ... ” Swift died in 1745, so he was likely not writing about Donald Trump. We know this maxim in other forms, including that “a lie can travel halfway around the world before the truth gets its boots on.”

Chris Wray had a chance to begin to chase down an outrageous lie. He may not have caught it and he certainly would not have changed the hearts and minds of some, but he would have sent a clear message to the men and women of the FBI that he has their back. He needs to get his boots on.