FBI Director Christopher Wray tangles with House GOP in tense hearing. What you missed

WASHINGTON – FBI Director Christopher Wray defended the agency Wednesday against House Republicans who argued it suppressed conservative posts on social media and for running what they called illegal searches about U.S. citizens under a foreign surveillance law.

The hearing became the latest flashpoint for the FBI, which Republicans criticized for investigating participants at school board meetings and censoring social media posts. Democrats accused Republicans of trying to protect former President Donald Trump, who faces federal charges related to possession of national security documents after an FBI search of Mar-a-Lago 18 months after he left the White House. The White House says Republicans are attacking law enforcement.

In his opening salvo, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, cited a federal court decision in Louisiana eight days earlier that found the government suppressed First Amendment rights of people posting on social media posts about the COVID-19 pandemic vaccines and mask requirements under a policy the ruling compared to an “Orwellian ministry of truth.”

The ruling found the FBI failed to alert social media companies that a story about Hunter Biden’s laptop was real rather than Russian disinformation days before the 2020 presidential election. Jordan and Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., said that deprived millions of voters of information before the election.

“When the court said the FBI misled, that’s a nice way of saying they lied,” Jordan said.

Wray said he has reviewed the decision and the FBI would comply with the court’s prohibition against influencing social media companies. But he declined to comment further, he said, because the case is subject to further litigation.

“Our focus is on malign, foreign disinformation – that is, foreign malign information, that is foreign hostile actors who engage in covert actions to confuse our social media platforms,” Wray said. “The FBI is not in the business of moderating content or causing any social media company to suppress or censor.”

GOP vows to oppose extension of intelligence surveillance policy

Jordan said Republicans and possibly Democrats would oppose the reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which is scheduled to expire at the end of the year, because of 204,000 episodes of “illegal scrutiny” of U.S. citizens.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., said a court found that the illegitimate queries included several people linked to the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021.

"The FBI has broken so bad that people can go and engage in queries that when you come before the Congress to answer questions, you're blissfully ignorant," Gaetz said. "The court has smacked you down, ruling FBI personnel apparently conducted queries for improper personal reasons."

Wray said staffers had been disciplined for improper queries, but he couldn't go into details.

Wray’s prepared statement said he is concerned about “profound risks” with proposals to require either a search warrant or court order before conducting a “U.S. person query” under Section 702 of the act. Wray said such a change would become a ban because applications either wouldn’t meet court standards or would take too long.

“That would be a body blow to the FBI, which relies on this longstanding, lawful capability to rapidly uncover previously hidden threats and connections, and to take swift steps to protect the homeland when needed,” Wray said.

Democrats have also questioned extending Section 702 without changes, said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif. “The committee will need to look into warrant requirements," Lofgren said.

“We have bipartisan support around the concerns we have about FISA reauthorization, and unless we really understand what measures the FBI is taking to ensure that people’s privacy is protected, I think it’s going to be a very difficult reauthorization process,” added Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash.

Wray agrees with Durham report on FBI missteps in Russia investigation

A rare point of agreement arose in a discussion of former special counsel John Durham’s report on the origins of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, which was called Crossfire Hurricane.

Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., questioned why the FBI failed to consider information beneficial to suspects during Crossfire Hurricane. Cline also questioned whether the FBI abused its authority under the Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Act.

“The American people are outraged” about agents who undermined the FBI’s reputation, Cline said.

The FBI adopted dozens of changes after a scathing inspector general’s report about Crossfire Hurricane, which occurred before Wray became director in August 2017. Durham didn't recommend additional wholesale changes.

“Certainly there were violations that were totally unacceptable and in my view cannot be allowed to happen again,” Wray said.

Cline also criticized the FBI’s warrantless queries on 3.4 million Americans in 2021 and 200,000 last year.

“It looks like a framework that enables the FBI to spy on countless Americans,” Cline said.

Wray: Accusation he's against conservatives is 'insane'

Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., called the Durham report and Russia investigation evidence of an unfair justice system and asked Wray how he would reform law enforcement.

“The American people fully understand that there is a two-tiered justice system that has been weaponized to persecute people based on their political beliefs and that you have personally worked to weaponize the FBI against conservatives,” Hageman said.

Wray disagreed with her description, but said the FBI already adopted changes such as a new leadership team and by removing people from the chain of command.

“The idea that I am biased against conservatives seems somewhat insane to me given my own personal background,” Wray said.

Jordan proposes to reduce FBI funding

On Tuesday, Jordan recommended slashing the agency’s funding, including money for a proposed new headquarters building in the D.C. region. He also proposed to thwart Biden administration immigration policies, gun regulations and what he called abusive law enforcement. Any spending changes would eventually be negotiated with Senate Democrats.

“The Committee and Select Subcommittee have received startling testimony about egregious abuses, misallocation of federal law-enforcement resources, and misconduct within the leadership ranks of the FBI,” Jordan said in a letter to Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Kay Granger, R-Texas.

Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., noted that some Republican House members have called for defunding and dismantling the FBI. Lieu asked Wray what that would mean.

“We would have hundreds more violent criminals out on the street, dozens more violent gangs terrorizing communities, hundreds more child predators on the loose, hundreds more kids left at those predators’ mercy instead of being rescued, scores of threats from the Chinese Communist Party being left unaddressed,” Wray said.

White House: House GOP attacking law enforcement

White House spokesman Ian Sams said “extreme House Republicans" have decided to attack law enforcement rather than support the FBI.

“Instead of attacking federal law enforcement for political purposes, House Republicans should join President Biden to stand up for law enforcement and put the rule of law and the safety and security of the American people ahead of themselves.”

The top Democrat on the committee, Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, accused Republicans of trying to protect Trump for his campaign in 2024 and called the hearing "little more than performance art.”

House Republicans questioned Wray's priorities in investigating the Biden administration.

Gaetz asked Wray point blank whether he was protecting the Bidens, which Wray denied. "Absolutely not," said Wray, who was appointed by Trump.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Insane': FBI Director Wray tangles with House GOP. What you missed