(Thursday PO) FBI Director Wray grilled as House GOP members allege 'politicization' of the agency

[GuideToACrazyWorld]

https://www.npr.org/2023/07/12/11869930 ... opher-wray

FBI Director Christopher Wray was in the hot seat Wednesday as he fielded questions — and accusations — from members of the House Judiciary Committee.

The interactions between lawmakers (particularly Republicans) and Wray were, at times, tense and heated as the director addressed questions, most framed as accusations that the FBI pursues a political agenda. Committee members questioned Wray over the agency's response to Jan. 6, investigations into former President Donald Trump, President Biden and the wider Biden family, the agency's use of the federal program known as FISA — the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act — which conducts surveillance of foreign entities for national security reasons, among a litany of other issues.

Republican lawmakers in charge of the committee, including Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio, called the hearing to focus on their concern that the agency has grown increasingly politicized under Wray's leadership.

At the start of the hearing, Jordan alleged that the FBI has illegally scrutinized conservatives and Catholics and engaged in the "weaponization of the government against the American people."

Jordan has loudly criticized the FBI outside of the hearing and made it clear he plans try to block money for some FBI programs, including a planned new agency headquarters.
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As part of his opening statement, Jordan also brought up allegations that the FBI supposedly worked with social media companies to censor stories about Hunter Biden's laptop ahead of the 2020 election, that agency whistleblowers face retaliation and that the bureau's Richmond office drafted a now-withdrawn memo targeting extremism in Catholic churches.

Democrats see the hearing and other attacks on the FBI as a way to settle scores related to the two impeachments of then-President Trump and other disputes. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., called the GOP-led committee "MAGA Republicans" and the "legislative arm of the Trump reelection campaign" during the hearing.

As Wray tackled the questions, the White House issued a statement criticizing Republicans for holding the hearing.

"Extreme 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 blue, they're attacking the blue – going after the FBI, federal prosecutors, and other law enforcement professionals with political stunts to try to get themselves attention on the far right," Ian Sams, the White House spokesperson for oversight and investigations, said in a statement.
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Republicans want answers from FBI Director Wray in their push for Biden probes

For his part, Wray defended the work of the FBI's 38,000 personnel in his opening statement to the committee.

"Those men and women, who choose to dedicate their careers—their lives, really—to this kind of work and to fulfilling the FBI mission, are inspiring," Wray said in his statement to the committee.

Rep. Jim Jordan chairs a House Judiciary Committee hearing on oversight of the FBI.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

He went on to say, "Today's FBI leaders reflect the best of this organization."

Republican lawmakers' attitudes toward the bureau have changed in recent years with Wray and his agency under attack since he took over the position. Wray became the eighth head of the FBI on Aug. 2, 2017.
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House Judiciary Committee Republicans have kept their promise made last year that the FBI and Department of Justice would be under their microscope once they took over the House.

Wray's appearance Wednesday comes after a threat from House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., to start contempt proceedings against Wray last month. Republicans alleged Wray and other FBI officials have withheld information tied to an investigation into President Biden and his family.

The FBI has said those contempt proceedings, which didn't move forward, are "unwarranted."
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House Republicans ramp up claims Biden family received money from foreign contacts

The criticism toward the FBI under Wray's leadership, as well as the DOJ, continued after Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to federal income tax charges and a felony firearm offense.

Republicans have alleged that Biden engaged in a bribery scheme with a foreign national during his time as vice president. The White House, and others, have denied these claims.

These topics were brought up by Republican members within the first 30 minutes of the hearing and continued to come up throughout the hours-long meeting.
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In one of the most heated exchanges of the day, Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida directly asked Wray, "Are you protecting the Bidens?"

To which Wray answered, "Absolutely not."
Lawmakers prod Wray on FBI's use of social media

Republican members ran with a recent court decision by a federal district judge in Louisiana that could impact how the government can engage with social media companies to combat disinformation and misinformation.

District Court Judge Terry Doughty issued a preliminary injunction barring several federal agencies from certain interactions with social media companies.

Chairman Jordan said Wednesday that "the court found that the federal government suppressed Americans' First Amendment free speech rights."

Wray pushed back on this reading of the decision saying the, "FBI is not in the business of moderating social media" and that the agency doesn't ask social media sites to suppress information.
Democrats criticize FBI's timidity in investigating Trump

Wray arrives to testify before the House Judiciary Committee.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Wray did not escape some criticism by Democratic lawmakers, Reps. Zoe Lofgren and Adam Schiff.

Lofgren questioned Wray on reports that FBI investigators slow-walked inquiries into Trump's role in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

She asked Wray if he knew whether investigators looked into Trump's role in the insurrection in the early days after the attack at the Capitol. She suggested there was an "unprecedented delay" in investigating Trump and that Republican lawmakers were wrong about the former president being unfairly targeted.

Schiff similarly called the perceived delay as "inexplicable." He also questioned the FBI's slow response to dig into Trump's refusal to hand over classified documents that he kept at his resort in Florida.

Democrats and Republicans shared concerns over reported abuses of the FBI's use of FISA — which Wray conceded is an area the bureau is working to address.

Among those abuses are reportedly that investigators used FISA to look into Black Lives Matter protesters.
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The FBI says it uses Section 702 of FISA "to further its national security investigations."

"Section 702 allows the FBI to collect on a target who is a non-U.S. person, outside the United States, for foreign intelligence purposes, without submitting an individualized application or obtaining an individualized order," according to the agency.

[GuideToACrazyWorld]

I personally thought the investigation of an active candidate back in 2016 was way more concerning then the resent investigation.

[Slip Shod]

Can you handle the truth ?
Whistleblower on the run
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[Z is for Zangie]

Can you handle the truth ?
Whistleblower on the run
(13 mins.)
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GIFs.gif

He is a criminal...here is the real story:
After months of innuendo and speculation, they finally had their man.

On May 14, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) appeared on Fox News and said he had identified an "informant" who had evidence that "Joe Biden, when he was vice president, was involved in a quid pro quo with a foreign country in exchange for foreign aid."

There was just one problem, according to Comer: the informant had gone missing. "[W]e can't track down the informant," Comer told Fox News' Maria Bartiromo. "We're hopeful that the informant is still there."

What happened to the informant with bombshell information? Comer was vague. "These informants are kind of in the spy business," he said. "So they don't make a habit of being seen a lot or being high-profile or anything like that." Comer suggested that one of the reasons he wasn't able to get in touch with the informant is that "the Biden White House" is "intimidating" people with relevant information. Right now, the missing informant and other people with dirt on the Bidens, Comer alleged, "fear for their lives."

"This is absolutely extraordinary and it is stunning that some people are missing," Bartormo said. "Just stunning, a stunning breaking news story this morning, that some of these people now may be missing."


On May 31, Miranda Devine of the New York Post, which has the same parent company as Fox News, reported that the "missing" witness was Gal Luft, a dual US-Israeli citizen. Devine provided more details of Luft's allegations:

In March 2019, Luft met with four FBI officials and two DOJ prosecutors at the US Embassy in Brussels to provide information that Chinese state-controlled energy company CEFC had paid $100,000 a month to Hunter Biden and $65,000 to his uncle Jim, in exchange for their FBI connections and use of the Biden name to promote China’s Belt and Road Initiative around the world.

Luft also alleged "that Hunter had an FBI mole named 'One Eye' who had tipped off his CEFC business partners… that they were under investigation." Luft said that he shared this information with the FBI in 2019.

Devine also acknowledged that Luft had been arrested in Cyprus in February on charges that he conspired to sell Chinese weapons to foreign countries, violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act, and lied to law enforcement. Luft had gone "missing" when he skipped bail while awaiting an extradition hearing to the United States.

Devine appeared on Laura Ingraham's Fox News show on June 2 and described Luft as a "mild-mannered professor in Washington, D.C." When Bartiromo picked up the story a few days later on Fox News, she only said that Luft was "on the run from the law on charges he denies."

On July 5, Luft emerged again, sharing a 14-minute video with Devine outlining his allegations against the Bidens. Luft alleged he came forward because he was concerned about Joe Biden's corrupt relationship with China. "I did it out of deep concern that if the Bidens were to come to power, the country would be facing the same traumatic Russia collusion scandal — only this time with China," Luft said in the recording. "Sadly, because of the DOJ’s cover-up, this is exactly what happened."

But, according to a 58-page indictment filed by the Department of Justice on November 1, 2022, and unsealed on Monday, it was Luft who had a corrupt relationship with the China. According to prosecutors Luft "conspired with others in an effort to act within the United States to advance the interests of the People’s Republic of China as agents of China-based principals, without registering as foreign agents as required under U.S. law." Specifically, Luft allegedly "agreed to covertly recruit and pay, on behalf of principals based in China, a former high-ranking U.S. Government official ('Individual-1”), including in 2016 while the former official was an adviser to the then-President-elect, to publicly support certain policies with respect to China without LUFT or Individual-1 filing a registration statement as an agent of a foreign principal with the Attorney General of the United States." According to the indictment, Luft also was involved in illegally selling Chinese arms and Iranian oil.

Did the detailed criminal charges against Luft have any impact on the tenor of Fox News' coverage? Absolutely not.

How Fox News took the news about Luft
On the heels of the unsealing of Luft’s indictment on Monday, Bartiromo led the effort to portray his prosecution as the fruit of a sprawling DOJ conspiracy to protect Joe Biden and keep Luft from testifying before Comer's committee — nevermind that Luft was charged months before Republicans took control of the House.“You’re not getting the witnesses that you need, because many of them are getting intimidated,” she told Rep. Greg Murphy on Tuesday. “Gal Luft was just indicted!”

The idea that Luft’s indictment represents an effort to intimate witnesses in Biden investigations was a recurring theme of Bartiromo’s show on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Bartiromo also played a leading role in spreading the big lie in the weeks following Trump’s loss in 2020. But as was the case with her unhinged theories about election fraud, Bartiromo has enlisted prominent and powerful people in the Republican Party to lend credibility to her conspiracies about Luft.

On Tuesday, for instance, Bartiromo discussed Luft’s indictment with purported moderate Congresswoman Nancy Mace (R-SC). Mace pushed the narrative that Luft’s indictment is an effort to kneecap Republican investigations, saying the DOJ is“trying to silence our witnesses.”

On Wednesday, Bartiromo interviewed Kevin McCarthy and pushed Luft conspiracy theories while the House Speaker nodded along. “This guy who tried to tell the FBI and the DOJ what he knew about the transactions, business deals in the Biden family, now he had to go on the run and is getting indicted,” Bartiromo said, prompting McCarthy to boast that Republicans are “showing the truth, not playing politics.”


Bartiromo’s conduct is egregious, but she’s far from the only voice on Fox trying to flip reality on its head. During an interview with Comer on Monday evening, Ingraham questioned the “timing” of Luft’s indictment, even though Ingraham is a highly trained lawyer who almost certainly understands the difference between being indicted and the unsealing of the charges.“The timing is always coincidental, according to the Democrats at the Department of Justice,” Comer replied.

And it’s not just Fox News opinion hosts who are refusing to let facts get in the way of their narrative. On Tuesday, “news” host John Roberts suggested that Luft’s indictment increases the credibility of his allegations against the Biden family.

“The fact that he's been arrested now and is accused of being an agent of China has got the left just having a field day with this, saying it shreds his credibility, but the flip side of that coin is if you're accused of being a foreign agent for China, you probably know who else is working with them,” Roberts said during an interview with Rep. Darrell Issa.


A responsible news organization would respond to the indictment of a key source with self-reflection and incorporate new facts into their reporting. But not Fox News. When facts arise that cut against their narrative, Fox News simply enlarges their conspiracy theory to accommodate them.


A guest post by
Aaron Rupar
Independent journalist covering US politics and media and author of Public Notice.

He was indicted way back in 2019 I believe and has been avoiding extradition, he suddenly had something to say once he was in trouble...

There are all kinds of reliable stories about this out there slip, broaden your horizons..and stop listening to conspiracy theories

[Z is for Zangie]

@Slip Shod

And again...The New York Post? Seriously?

[Slip Shod]

On the run because of false charges brought upon him by the corrupt doj. Nothing to see here people, move on. Your tax dollars at work funding a corrupt Washington machine
He explained how he'd never get a fair trial in the New York courts
• and he sent them (N.Y.Post) the video, they didn't go out looking for him, he sent them this video explaining his side - to be published
- and if there was anyone under the sheets in bed with China doing kinky things that decent folks would never talk about it was the Bidens not this poor stiff

[Z is for Zangie]

On the run because of false charges brought upon him by the corrupt doj. Nothing to see here people, move on. Your tax dollars at work funding a corrupt Washington machine
He explained how he'd never get a fair trial in the New York courts
• and he sent them (N.Y.Post) the video, they didn't go out looking for him, he sent them this video explaining his side - to be published
- and if there was anyone under the sheets in bed with China doing kinky things that decent folks would never talk about it was the Bidens not this poor stiff

Did you even read the piece I posted? He is lying, and he was indicted when Trump was president, incidentally

[Slip Shod]

Yes Trump appointed Wray, what a disaster that turned out to be. I'm sure he feels now.. 'if I knew then what I know now'
He had people close to him and some of them appointments that turned out to be real disappointments, but isn't that politics, I mean the nature of things, you never really know who your friends are.
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And to answer your question Z yes I read the entire posting you had. And that has me wondering do you understand what you posted.

[Tarmaque]

The lengths Republicans are going to in order to find something, anything, even if they have to make it up, on President Biden or his family in order to distract from Florida Guy's never ending legal troubles is pathetic. It's the same old Republican play book in use for 30 years. If the facts don't support your position, lie until people believe that they do.

[Z is for Zangie]

Yes Trump appointed Wray, what a disaster that turned out to be. I'm sure he feels now.. 'if I knew then what I know now'
He had people close to him and some of them appointments that turned out to be real disappointments, but isn't that politics, I mean the nature of things, you never really know who your friends are.
-
And to answer your question Z yes I read the entire posting you had. And that has me wondering do you understand what you posted.

Sure I do and I have read it over and over on several sites..we don't know anything yet, and speculating is just wrong, wait and see what actually happens...this guy never said a word till he was in trouble...he is being indicted for real crimes and is hiding ...trying to avoid being extradited

The FBI etc are mostly conservative Slip, overall most Law Enforcement is conservative, there were some careless screw-ups, but, there is no deep state or any conspiracy here...they are doing their job, and there are always one or two at least bad people, but, most of them are good people and just doing their job. The Crazies in the house are just performing for their constituents, most of them don't believe this carp and they are just playing politics, if they had anything, they could have done this when Trump was president and Barr was the Atty General, they didn't have any evidence. Trump lies all the time, that is all he does and all he cares about is himself. You are not a dumb guy, I don't get why you don't get this...this Gal actually has done and was caught doing the things he is accusing Hunter and Joe of, projection, the right does that a lot lately.

These are facts, not stories.

[Slip Shod]

I luv you to pieces Z & you can believe anything you want, wouldn't change a thing, don't have a problem with it