Dems Call Out GOP Hypocrisy During Stunt Hearing With FBI Director

Ryan Bort and Nikki McCann Ramirez
·4 min read
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Republicans hauled FBI Director Christopher Wray in front of the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday as part of their effort to tear down federal law enforcement for investigating Donald Trump. The hearing was a circus, with Republicans pressing Wray about various conspiracy theories and generally doing whatever they could do to portray the FBI as a corrupt extension of the Biden administration.

Democrats spent their time highlighting the absurdity of the idea, considering Wray is a registered Republican appointed by Trump. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) poked several additional holes in the argument that Democrats have weaponized the Justice Department to take down Trump allies, noting that multiple such Trump allies were convicted while Trump was still in office.

“We don’t have a two-tiered system of justice,” Lieu said. “We have one Department of Justice that goes after criminals regardless of party ideology. All of these folks were convicted under the administrations of three separate Republican attorneys general. It is not the fault of the FBI that Donald Trump surrounded himself with criminals. Donald Trump brought that upon himself.”

Republicans are desperately trying to convince America this isn’t the case, and that Trump’s legal woes are part of a vast conspiracy to keep the former president from retaking the White House. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) even tried to push the idea that the riot at the Capitol was orchestrated by the FBI, which Wray called “ludicrous.” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) suggested a pipe bomb found outside the Democratic National Committee on Jan. 6 may, too, have been a false flag. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) asked Wray point-blank if he was trying to protect the Bidens. “It appears as though you’re whitewashing the conduct of corrupt people,” Gaetz said, without a hint of self-reflective irony.

Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) was the circus’ ringleader, accusing Wray of turning the FBI into an “Orwellian Ministry of Truth,” citing the bureau’s relationship with social media companies regarding stories about Hunter Biden’s laptop ahead of the 2020 election. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) was quick to call him out.

“He’s upset because he believes the FBI prevented more Americans from learning about a private citizen’s laptop. That is bananas to me,” Swalwell said of Jordan. “You all are bringing up FISA and every single question you’re essentially saying to the American people that you’re guardians of personal security and privacy, but the 2020 election was determined because the FBI didn’t let more Americans see a private citizen’s nonconsensual nudes?”

“I think it’s quite rich that the guy that has accused you of lawlessness and weaponization is 400 days into violation of his own congressional subpoena over January 6,” Swalwell, referencing Jordan’s refusal to comply with a lawful subpoena from the Jan. 6 Committee.

Republicans have been going after Wray since Trump left office, primarily because of the Justice Department’s investigation into the former president’s handling of classified documents. The FBI executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago last summer, leading to calls to defund the bureau. The calls have continued as the Justice Department’s investigation has progressed, and as Special Counsel Jack Smith indicted him last month. Republicans have also attacked Wray’s handling of the riot at the Capitol, as the Justice Department has charged more than 1000 individuals for crimes related to the attack.

Rep. Gaetz and other Republicans pinned the nation’s distrust of the FBI on Wray. “People trusted the FBI more when J. Edgar Hoover was running the place than when you are,” he said, to which Wray replied that “in your home state of Florida, the number of people applying to come work for us, and devote their life working for us, is up over 100 percent since I started.”

Republicans neglected to acknowledge their own role in eroding the public’s trust in the FBI by relentlessly spreading conspiracy theories about its work. The hearing on Tuesday is another example of their effort to discredit federal law enforcement, painting Wray as the face of the imagined corruption. Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) warned Wray about what he was in for near the beginning of the hearing. “You’re still a registered Republican,” he told the FBI director, “and I hope you don’t change your party affiliation after this hearing is over.”

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