Bye, Bye, Boente
Yesterday we learned that Dana Boente--long time Deep State operative in the DoJ, and currently General Counsel at Chris Wray's FBI--was apparently given the choice of being fired or of resigning. He resigned. The General Counsel is essentially the FBI Director's personal lawyer for official business, so it can be assumed that the two work hand in glove together. Nevertheless, reports had it that
"the decision to dismiss [Boente]came from high levels of the Justice Dept. rather than directly from FBI Director Wray."
I think it's safe to say that this was AG Bill Barr's decision, and that Barr saw no reason to consider anything Wray had to say on the matter. If Barr took that attitude toward firing Wray's right hand man for all things legal pertaining to the FBI, it's hard to see how Wray himself is not on thin ice--despite Barr's typical supportive statements. That's just Barr's style--everything's fine until suddenly they're not fine.
Monica Showalter has a nice summary of the firing and its possible implications for Wray: Bell tolling for FBI Director Christopher Wray? As a reminder of who Boente is, she quotes sundance:
Dana Boente is enmeshed in all of it: the Wolfe case and cover-up, the Assange case and cover-up, and the hiding of documents in the Flynn case and cover-up. Boente’s role as a manipulative fixer to protect the ongoing corrupt action of the Mueller probe was exactly why FBI Director Chris Wray hired him.
Boente also signed off on one of the Carter Page FISA renewals, so that could be another thing hanging over his head.
Sundance, of course, has to aim one of his trademark dumb-ass asides at Barr, but I think Showalter gets it exactly right:
Attorney General Bill Barr is a tough player. And the Trump team has already demonstrated that 'you're fired' is a thing.
Trump could have cleaned house before Barr took over. He didn't do it, presumably for good reasons. Barr is doing his housecleaning at his own pace and in his own style. His style is apolitical--actions speak louder than words. Barr's views are well known. He has no need to convince anyone that he's in charge. When the time is right he pulls the trigger, and he doesn't back down. For example, Barr apparently thought Tim Shea was the right guy for the USAO in DC, but when Shea screwed up he was quickly removed, without fanfare. Wray may be about to find out all about Barr's approach to managing.