WASHINGTON — Amid Republican criticism of the FBI and the Justice Department, FBI Director Christopher Wray prepared Wednesday to promote the agency’s accomplishments during a House hearing.
Wray will address a hostile audience. Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, criticized the FBI for inciting social media companies to censor posts and investigate school board attendees. Additionally, Wray’s appearance before the House Judiciary Committee comes two days after the department disclosed charges against Gal Luft, the fugitive co-director of a Maryland think tank for allegedly acting as a broker and agent. illegal weapons for China. Luft, an adviser to Donald Trump when he was president-elect, has become a key figure in GOP investigations into President Joe Biden and those close to him.
The FBI has “thousands of active investigations we are currently conducting into the Chinese government’s efforts to steal our most valuable secrets, rob our companies of their ideas and innovation, and suppress free speech right here in the States.” United,” Wray said in prepared remarks. .
On Tuesday, Jordan recommended drastically cutting funding for the agency, including money for a proposed new headquarters in the DC area. He also offered to thwart the Biden administration’s immigration policies, gun regulations and what he called abusive law enforcement. Any spending changes will eventually be negotiated with Senate Democrats.
“The committee and select subcommittee received startling testimony about gross abuses, misallocation of federal law enforcement resources, and misconduct within the FBI’s leadership ranks,” Jordan said in a statement. a letter to Credit Committee Chair Kay Granger, R-Texas.
Despite being a remnant of Trump, Wray is on a collision course with House Republicans investigating the Biden administration.
The head of the Oversight and Accountability Committee, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., has relied on Luft as a whistleblower against Biden family corruption. The White House has denied Comer’s influence peddling allegations and accused him of conducting a hyper-partisan investigation.
Jordan criticized Attorney General Merrick Garland and the FBI for investigating school board meeting attendees, while Garland and Wray said they focused on violence and threats of violence.
Wray focused in his prepared remarks on accomplishments beyond “the investigation or two that seems to be making all the headlines.” Last year, the FBI arrested more than 20,000 violent criminals, including child predators. And the FBI is conducting more than 300 investigations into drug cartel leadership and seizing hundreds of kilograms of fentanyl this year.
“And that’s just scratching the surface,” Wray said in prepared remarks. “The men and women of the FBI work tirelessly every day to protect the American people from an awe-inspiring array of threats.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: FBI Chief Wray Promotes Agency Amid House GOP Criticism