(NewsNation) — FBI Director Christopher Wray was criticized by Republicans over his agency’s work during a fairly contentious House Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday.
There were certain things Wray did not address: notably, he did not engage in questions on more specific aspects of federal investigations into former President Donald Trump or current President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter.
There were a number of other topics Wray and committee members did spar over during the hourslong hearing, though.
IS THE FBI PROTECTING THE BIDEN FAMILY FROM INVESTIGATION?
Republicans have argued that there’s a “two-tier system” regarding how the FBI investigates Trump versus the current president’s son.
Hunter Biden recently reached an agreement to plead guilty to misdemeanor federal tax charges, which Republicans have slammed as a “sweetheart” deal. Additionally, Republican lawmakers have been pushing for a probe into the Biden family’s business dealings.
In May, House Republicans threatened to hold Wray in contempt of Congress for failing to hand over FBI documents that allegedly contain an allegation about then-Vice President Biden engaging in a bribery scheme with a foreign national. However, House Republicans canceled the contempt vote.
Wray said the bureau is not shielding the president or his family from investigation.
During one explosive exchange, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., read an alleged WhatsApp message from Hunter Biden to a Chinese businessman, and asked the director: “Are you protecting the Bidens?”
“Absolutely not,” Wray forcefully refuted. “The FBI has no interest in protecting anyone politically.”
WERE THERE UNDERCOVER FBI AGENTS, INFORMANTS OR SOURCES IN THE CROWD ON JAN. 6TH?
In his testimony, Wray condemned far-right conspiracies that the bureau’s agents were involved in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
At the center of the conspiracy spread by Trump, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and numerous Republican lawmakers is Ray Epps, an Arizona man who was captured on video the night of Jan. 5 exhorting pro-Trump supporters to enter the Capitol the next day. Those who believe the conspiracy accused Epps of working with the federal government to help orchestrate the insurrection.
Epps is now suing Fox in Delaware Superior Court.
When pressed by Rep. Steve Cohen, R-Tennessee, about whether Epps was a secret government agent, Wray replied, “No way.”
“This notion that somehow the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6th was part of some operation orchestrated by FBI sources and agents is ludicrous and is a disservice to our brave hard-working, dedicated men and women,” Wray concluded.
WHAT DID THE DURHAM REPORT SHOW?
Special Counsel John Durham was tapped to scrutinize the FBI’s own investigation, “Crossfire Hurricane,” over Trump’s 2016 campaign and possible contact with Russia.
In an over 300-page report, Durham concluded that the bureau didn’t have sufficient evidence to open the case, and there were “extremely troublesome” failures in its probe, including that authorities fell prone to confirmation bias.
Wray agreed Wednesday that there were missteps relating to the Durham report.
Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., questioned Wray on whether the FBI had an “adequate basis” to launch Crossfire Hurricane.
“My understanding is that Mr. Durham found that it did not have a proper basis to elevate it to a full investigation but that he thought it an assessment or a preliminary inquiry was appropriate,” Wray said in a moment of consensus.
“Certainly, there were violations that were totally unacceptable and, in my view, cannot be allowed to happen again,” Wray said.
HAS THE FBI ASKED SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES TO CENSOR POSTS?
Committee members asked Wray about the FBI’s relationship with social media companies, and about these platforms taking down conservative-leaning posts at the agency’s request. Specifically, some asked about a Louisiana court ruling restricting Biden administration agencies such as the FBI from communicating with these companies.
“We don’t ask social media companies to censor information or suppress information when it comes to national security threats,” Wray maintained. “When some other intelligence agency gives us information about a Foreign Intelligence Service being behind some account, we’ll call social media companies’ attention to that. But at the end of the day, we’re very clear that it’s up to the social media companies … whether to do something about it or not.”
However, Republican Rep. Darrell Issa of California pushed back against this, saying that a suggestion from “the most powerful law enforcement operation” is not a suggestion.
“It is, in fact, effectively an order,” Issa said.
WHY DID THE FBI ‘COLLUDE’ WITH A UKRAINIAN INTELLIGENCE AGENCY?
Committee Republicans accused the FBI of colluding with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in a flawed attempt to stop Russian disinformation. A report details allegations that the FBI did not properly vet social media accounts flagged by the Ukrainian intelligence agency, including a verified U.S. State Department Russian language Instagram account.
Wray said the SBU is a “longstanding good partner” of the FBI. After Russia invaded Ukraine last February, effectively cutting off the other country’s communication, the SBU reached out to the FBI and asked it to contact U.S. companies on its behalf, Wray told the committee.
WHEN WILL THERE BE MORE INFORMATION ON CONTROVERSIAL CATHOLIC MEMO?
House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, a Republican from Ohio, brought up a memorandum written by an agent in the FBI’s Richmond, Virginia, field office, describing an overlap between white nationalist groups and “Radical-Traditionalist Catholics.”
Wray responded by saying the document was a “single product by a single field office.”
“As soon as I found out about it, I was aghast and ordered it withdrawn and removed from FBI systems,” Wray said.
Jordan is in possession of the memo, NewsNation partner The Hill reported, although it was redacted in some places. The committee chair asked Wray why the FBI won’t let members talk to those who put the memo together in the first place, and if he could get an unredacted version of it.
Wray said the FBI is working on finishing an internal review of the incident, and will provide a briefing on it “very soon” to the committee.
