Sources
McAfee on the deep state (2021 clip)
John McAfee (clip posted 24 Jun 2021, 2 min) argues the 'deep state' is not secret: it is career agency staff whom elected officials cannot fire, and who make most binding rules through regulation.
Claims in this source
Each claim is graded on its own; this source is not graded.
| Claim | Verdict | At | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| CIA staff can in fact be fired by the Director without cause, contrary to McAfee's blanket claim | Documented · occurred | reports | |
| In 2021, career federal staff generally could not be fired by the President or Congress | Documented · occurred Handling: removal protections for policy-role staff are being narrowed via Schedule F / Policy-Career reclassification since 2025 | reports | |
| McAfee concludes that the deep state 'does control America' | Concept | asserts | |
| McAfee said federal agencies issue roughly 20 regulations for every law Congress passes | Documented | reports | |
| McAfee said there have been 200,000 regulations since 1975 totaling 800,000 pages | Documented | reports | |
| McAfee's figure of 800,000 pages of regulation is unproven | Unproven | reports | |
| McAfee's judgment that regulations have 'far more impact' than laws is his own framing | Smoke, no fire | asserts |
Ties
| To | Role | Years | Verdict | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Helms | CIA career-staff continuity example | — | — | vault cross-ref |