FBI Director Christopher A. Wray frustrated House Republicans on Wednesday as he dodged questions about bureau activities that lawmakers said unfairly targeted conservatives and were too lenient on liberals, including President Biden and his family.
In a highly contentious hearing before the House Judiciary Committee, Mr. Wray refused to answer questions about the bureau’s investigations into former President Donald Trump and Hunter Biden; whether undercover agents were involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol, and who authorized an FBI memo depicting Catholics as domestic terrorists.
He strongly defended himself and his workforce amid the combative questioning, insisting that the nation’s premier law enforcement agency hasn’t been weaponized against conservatives. Mr. Wray, a Republican who was appointed by Mr. Trump in 2017, said the allegations are “insane.”
“I would disagree with your characterization of the FBI and certainly your description of my own approach,” he told lawmakers. “The idea that I’m biased against conservatives seems somewhat insane to me, given my own personal background.”
Still, Mr. Wray angered Republicans on the panel with his nonanswers, sparking heated exchanges on issues such as the FBI’s investigation into Mr. Trump, its alleged role in censoring free speech, and whether the FBI overzealously labeled conservative parents as a threat to school officials.
“People trusted the FBI more when J. Edgar Hoover was running the place than when you are, and the reason is because you don’t give straight answers,” Rep. Matt Gaetz, Florida Republican, told the director.
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Clearly agitated, Mr. Wray said the number of people in Florida applying to work for the FBI has increased by more than 100%.
“We’re deeply proud of them, and they deserve better than you,” Mr. Gaetz fired back.
Mr. Gaetz pressed the FBI director about whether a text message in which Mr. Biden’s son Hunter Biden threatened a Chinese businessman amounted to a shakedown. Mr. Wray declined to answer the question.
“You seem deeply uncurious, don’t you? Almost suspiciously uncurious. Are you protecting the Bidens?” Mr. Gaetz asked about the text message, which was uncovered by an IRS whistleblower investigating the first son for tax fraud.
“Absolutely not,” Mr. Wray said before he was cut off by the lawmaker.
Mr. Wray would not confirm the existence of undercover agents at the Capitol on Jan. 6, saying he had to be careful about answering the question. He then offered to share a court filing in one of the Jan. 6 cases that he said provided more information on the subject.
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That gesture sparked a sharp rebuke from Rep. Darrell Issa, California Republican, who told the FBI director, “You’re ducking the question because you don’t want to answer for the fact that you had at least one.”
Mr. Wray did push back on claims that undercover agents and a man named Ray Epps had helped instigate the Capitol attack, but also said it was inappropriate for him to discuss whether Mr. Epps would face criminal charges.
“If you are suggesting that the violence that happened at the Capitol on Jan. 6 was part of some operation orchestrated by FBI sources or FBI agents, the answer is ’no, it was not’ and to suggest otherwise is a disservice to our hardworking, dedicated law enforcement professionals,” Mr. Wray said.
Some Republicans and Trump acolytes have accused Mr. Epps of being an undercover FBI agent sent to incite an attack at the Capitol on Jan. 6, a claim he has long denied. That theory has been fueled by the fact that he has not faced criminal charges, despite being seen on video breaching a Capitol barricade.
Perhaps the most contentious exchange occurred when Mr. Wray declined to tell the committee who authored and approved a memo encouraging agents to develop sources inside Catholic parishes across the country as part of its effort to crack down on domestic terrorism.
In January, a former FBI agent published a memo created by the agency’s Richmond, Virginia, office saying that “radical-traditionalist Catholics” adhere to an “anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ and white supremacist ideology,” and asserting that they are prone to “extremist ideological beliefs and violent rhetoric.”
Mr. Wray said he couldn’t disclose to Congress the identities of those who drafted and approved the memo because of an “ongoing internal review.” The response was met with deep skepticism from Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, Ohio Republican.
“We, the Congress, and the American people have to wait until you do an internal review — it’s not even a criminal review — before we can talk to the people who wrote this?” Mr. Jordan said.
Mr. Wray pledged to give lawmakers a briefing on the review’s findings, which he said should be completed this summer. However, he declined to say if he would identify the individuals who drafted and approved the memo.
Rep. Thomas Massie, Kentucky Republican, grilled Mr. Wray about why the FBI has not been able to identify a suspect or offer more information about the pipe bomb found at the Democratic National Committee headquarters on the same day as the Capitol attack.
When Mr. Wray responded that he couldn’t discuss the case because of the ongoing criminal investigation. Mr. Massie said that it wasn’t good enough.
“We can handle classified information and we fund your department and so you need to provide that,” he said.
In the hearing, Republicans largely shied away from a report issued in May by special counsel John Durham, who looked into the origins of the FBI’s Russia investigation and concluded the bureau should not have opened the probe.
In response to the only question about the report, Mr. Wray said the conduct described by Mr. Durham was “totally unacceptable and unrepresentative of what I see from the FBI every day.”
Democrats defended Mr. Wray’s record and accused Republicans of criticizing him to support Mr. Trump’s 2024 reelection bid. They also pressed the FBI director to explain why defunding the bureau — which some Republicans have threatened to do — would make the country less safe.
As the Republicans unloaded on Mr. Wray, he defended his agency, admitting that there were mistakes but insisting that steps have been taken to address those issues.
Mr. Wray urged panel members to look at the “sheer breadth and impact of the work,” which he said “goes way beyond the one or two investigations that seem to capture all the headlines.”
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly reported the year when the riot at the U.S. Capitol occurred.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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