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Several Republican Party lawmakers in Congress on Wednesday launched a series of harsh criticisms of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray when he testified before the House Judiciary Committee.
Christopher Wray became the eighth director of the FBI on August 2, 2017, and had been nominated by then-President Donald Trump on June 7, 2017.
The chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, opened the hearing by launching a wide range of attacks on the FBI.from allegations that the FBI allowed social media companies to suppress Hunter Biden’s 2020 laptop story to claims that FBI whistleblowers have been retaliated against against the FBI’s handling of threats in boardrooms schoolchildren and a memo that was withdrawn from the FBI Richmond field office about extremism in the Catholic Church, according to CNN.
Republicans accused Wray of undermining public confidence in the law enforcement agency, for handling investigations into former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden.
Interactions between lawmakers, particularly Republicans, and Wray were tense and heated at times, most notably when the FBI director responded to questions framed as accusations that the FBI is pursuing a political agenda.
Wray lashed out at conspiracy theories suggesting the 2021 storming of the Capitol by thousands of Trump supporters was actually instigated by the FBI itself.
“The idea that the violence at the Capitol on January 6 was part of an operation orchestrated by FBI agents is ridiculous and damaging to our brave staff,” he said.
Wray also denied that he was defending -as Republican Matt Gaetz suggested- the family of President Joe Biden, whose son Hunter Biden has been indicted for illegal possession of a weapon and for filing two tax returns late.
“Not at all. The FBI has no interest in protecting politicians,” she asserted.
Democratic lawmakers view the hearing and other attacks on the FBI as a way to settle scores related to the two impeachment trials against then-President Donald Trump and other disputes that Republicans consider damaging. Georgia Democratic Rep. Hank Johnson called the GOP-led committee “MAGA Republicans” and the “legislative arm of the Trump re-election campaign” during the hearing.
As Wray addressed questions, the White House issued a statement criticizing Republicans for holding the hearing.
“Far House Republicans have decided that the only law enforcement they like is law enforcement that suits their own partisan political agenda. Instead of backing the blues, they are attacking the blues, going after the FBI, federal prosecutors, and other law enforcement professionals. with political stunts to try to get the attention of the far right,” Ian Sams, a White House spokesman for oversight and investigations, said in a statement.
For his part, Wray defended the work of the 38,000 FBI employees in his keynote address to the committee: “Those men and women, who choose to dedicate their careers, their lives, actually, to this type of work and to the fulfillment of the mission of the FBI, they are inspiring,” Wray said in his statement.
Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee have followed through on a promise they made last year that the FBI and the Department of Justice would be under their microscope once they took over the House.
Wray’s appearance before a House committee Wednesday followed a threat by House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., to bring contempt proceedings against Wray last month. Republicans alleged that Wray and other FBI officials withheld information related to an investigation into President Biden and his family.
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