Barack Obama's former attorney general, Eric Holder, on Friday told the "career men and women" at the FBI and Justice Department to "be prepared, be strong," warning that tough times are ahead for them.
"Your actions and integrity will be unfairly questioned," Holder wrote on Twitter. "Be prepared, be strong. Duty. Honor. Country."
Holder headed the Justice Department during the Obama administration from 2009 to 2015.
To the career men & women at DOJ/FBI: your actions and integrity will be unfairly questioned. Be prepared, be strong. Duty. Honor. Country.
— Eric Holder (@EricHolder) June 30, 2017
It is unclear why Holder sent the tweet, although it may be connected to the ongoing FBI investigation into possible ties between President Donald Trump's campaign and the Russian government.
This is not the first time that Holder has written such a tweet to career officials serving in the Justice Department; he wrote a similar message after former FBI Director James Comey was fired in May, using nearly identical words.
"To the career men and women at DOJ/FBI: you know what the job entails and how to do it. Be strong and unafraid. Duty. Honor. Country," Holder wrote.
To the career men and women at DOJ/FBI: you know what the job entails and how to do it. Be strong and unafraid. Duty. Honor. Country.
— Eric Holder (@EricHolder) May 10, 2017
Holder recently made a deliberate choice to be more politically visible, saying in an interview that after Trump's election, "now is the time to be heard."
There may be another reason for Holder becoming more vocal: according to the same report, the former attorney general is mulling a run for president in 2020.