Fair enough, though Sato's giant posters of Amon (least subtle secret hideout!) and the multiple witnesses to his attack do make his case a bit hard to make. It'll work for me if the writers turn this plot point into a character thing because I can believe Lin doesn't do politics and spin very well, but I think someone who does would be able to overshadow the failed inspection with the fruitful raid, and use Asami's support of the benders to reassure people that Sato's tech won't go anywhere.

A good point, and that definitely works better for me character-wise than rebelliousness out of nowhere.