If the American people hear the phrase, “I can’t comment on an ongoing investigation,” one more time, they’ll collectively lose their lunch, and forever abandon what little interest they had left in congressional hearings. You know it’s coming after any serious question. It’s the deep state’s version of taking the fifth.
FBI Director Christopher Wray was certainly aware of the battery of questions with which the Republicans intended to barrage his position. What’s stunning is the seeming complete lack of preparation for those questions, or perhaps, more accurately, Wray’s complete lack of concern.
It’s almost like he feels immune to accountability, sheltered under the wings of the vulture-like Merrick Garland. They’ve feathered their nests comfortably, with the Sock-Puppet-In-Chief providing overwatch from the White House. All the major news networks are entrenched and providing cover fire.
Representative Jim Jordan dialed in the big bore howitzers during his opening remarks, shelling Director Wray with allegations regarding the intelligence report produced by the FBI’s Richmond Field Office on “radical” catholics, the mistreatment of some FBI whistleblowers, the investigation into school board parents, and most significantly, the recent decision by U.S. District Court Judge Terry Doughty.
The Doughty decision details FBI collusion with big tech to suppress any questioning of COVID policies, the stolen 2020 presidential election, or Hunter Biden’s laptop chock full of pornography, drug use, prostitution, and sexually suggestive pictures of underage girls. Jordan fired point blank at Wray stating that clearly the FBI “misled companies in regard to the laptop story..which is a nice way of saying they [the FBI] lied.”
Can you imagine the 24/7 coverage if Donald Trump, Jr. was in possession of that kind and volume of salacious material? We all know the answer. It would be the feeding frenzy to end all feeding frenzies.
The Big Tech collusion question posed by Representative Jordan is a critical one, and Wray just bobbed, weaved, and retreated to his bunker hidden behind the good work agents do in thwarting cyber threats and their vital mission to help combat corporate, as well as foreign adversary, espionage.
The American people just want straight answers. Representative Jordan said, “four out of five Americans feel that there is a two tiered system of justice.” And Americans have every right to feel that way.
Director Wray could have given some real answers, but empty suits fold under pressure.
The investigation into school board parents could have been an easy layup for Director Wray. But, he clearly isn’t interested in going to war with his DOJ overlord. He could and should have said, the FBI’s involvement with the activities of school board parents was an overreach, since allegations of assault and battery are properly left to the disposition of the states and local law enforcement.
But that’s not the position of a tyrannical DOJ, and Director Wray isn’t about to go toe to toe with AG Garland — an empty suit response to a fairly straight forward set of facts.
The closest Wray came to believable transparency was his response to the Richmond Field Office’s infamous intelligence product. Wray stated he was “appalled” by the product and immediately moved to have the document removed from all FBI databases. He strenuously denied Jordan’s question as to the FBI’s intention to recruit priests as informants — frankly, an absurd question, and clearly a bit of flourish for the base, but not unfair. As bad as the FBI’s conduct has been lately, not much can be considered out of bounds.
However, the Richmond intelligence product is an outlier. Under better circumstances, a piece of “analysis” so poorly sourced and obviously motivated by political agenda would have become part of what commonly happens internally to FBI gaffes — they’re lampooned via office wide, and if they’re world-class stupid, bureau-wide internal email.
Any Supervisory Special Agent worth his or her salt would have placed such a spurious document in the nearest circular file and gotten back to the serious work of the FBI. However, these are by no means better circumstances.
The real danger inherent in the shift to intelligence collection becomes magnified as the FBI workforce transitions into a pure Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion product. Gone will be those who come from law enforcement or military backgrounds, highly educated JD graduates, or candidates from analytic disciplines like CPA programs. These men and women are being replaced by individuals selected by DEI criteria. And, the woke among us are being entrusted with a gold badge and our civil liberties.
Director Wray came under fire from Democrats, as well. Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) lobbed a mortar round that blew him out of his bunker. Jayapal said, “does the FBI purchase data?” Wray denied the accusation but said, “there is a lot of precision and technical dimensions to this.” She followed with, “Well, I do appreciate that, but I am looking at a report that is from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence saying that the FBI purchases data.” Unless the FBI is operating under court order (FISA) it is in violation of federal law.
Wray isn’t helping his embattled agency with his obfuscation and dodging. An element has arisen militating for the abolishment of the FBI. Conveniently, this narrative plays directly to the interests of our foreign adversaries. Many people who are leading or are complicit in the “Control-Alt-Delete the FBI” position are the useful idiots of hostile foreign intelligence organizations. How would the CIA enhance, manipulate, and action a narrative to defund or abolish the FSB — the Russian counterpart to the FBI, our nations first line of defense against domestic foreign intelligence operations.
The FBI can be great again. And, hopefully, on day one of Trump’s return to office in 2024, his first order of business will be to appoint a constitutionalist AG and FBI Director, preferably with real law enforcement experience — not just a DOJ empty suit. That’s not the entire solution, but it’ll be a big step in the right direction.