FBI Director Christopher Wray to step down before Trump takes office | Hacker News Reader

FBI Director Christopher Wray to step down before Trump takes office

nytimes.com

4 pointss3p9 comments

John Bolton writes:

Bolton had his shot during the first impeachment inquiry. He refused to testify, and let his subordinates hang out to dry. I feel he's of low or bad character, and should be ignored.

Isn't that just a textbook example of an ad homimem fallacy?

I notice you never said Bolton's assessment of the incoming administration as corrupt/power-abusing was actually wrong...

Potentially legit criticism. I did state some facts about Bolton's behavior. Then, I wrote how I felt about what that behavior means. I'm not sure that's ad hominem per se.

Thanks for making me think!

For me, the framing is more like: "Holy crap, when even John Bolton has chosen to break Republican ranks in order to denounce someone as a hack with no integrity, that means there's something legitimately-unusual here to pay attention to."

There is one scenario where I would be much more sympathetic to "whatever this person says is best ignored", and that's when they keep contradicting themselves with a kind of denial-of-service BS attack on listeners' minds that "isn't even wrong."

As much as I dislike most of Bolton's views, awards for that particular style belong firmly elsewhere these days.

I'm struggling a bit with the logic. If ad hominem is a fallacy, then surely your proposed framing is, too.

I wrote that Bolton is a gutless coward therefore he should be ignored.

You wrote that Bolton is a gutless coward, therefore he should be taken seriously.

Still thinking, thank you for this opportunity!

Someone omnipresent in DC, influential yet unelected is the epitome of swamp. The drain-the-swamp current invites ad-hominem; but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong.

https://archive.is/HQFgX

The way this works: by resigning, his successor must be confirmed by the Senate. Otherwise (Wray being fired in Jan) Trump could avoid that spectacle and the possibility that the Republican Party denies his picks. Avoiding Congress is the innovation here.

Sounds like Wray will likely be brought before Congress to answer for deep investigations by the FBI into Congresspeople themselves. The FBI director has historically tried to obtain leverage on everyone.

Patel won’t escape hearings, and has no obvious strengths. Republicans who want “reform” will need to accept the kind of reform Patel is capable of, within the confines Trump allows. Imagine shutting down investigations in the name of Law & Order.

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