WASHINGTON (AP) — As FBI Director Chris Wray faced congressional critics Wednesday, the Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee recited from a recent judge's ruling against the government's handling of misinformation on social media — kicking off a long list of GOP grievances against the Justice Department.
Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio said he is trying to stop what Republicans call the “weaponization” of the federal justice system that they say is tilted against conservatives, including Donald Trump, the former president.
However, the top Democrat on the committee, Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, said the hearing was “little more than performance art” by the Republicans who are launching what he called baseless investigations too far-fetched to be true.
Even the start of the hearing showcased the contention to come when a simple Pledge of Allegiance brought raised voices from the audience on the final lines, "liberty and justice for all.”
It’s just the latest display of the new normal on Capitol Hill, where Republicans who have long billed themselves as the champions of police and “law and order” are growing deeply at odds with federal law enforcement and the FBI, accusing the bureau of bias dating back to investigations of Trump when he was president. The new dynamic has forced Democrats into a position of defending these law enforcement agencies they have long criticized.
Republicans were prepared to aggressively question the director on several fronts, including Trump's recent indictment, the ongoing investigation into President Joe Biden's son and the push for a new FBI headquarters.
Jordan has been laying the groundwork for Wray’s appearance since House Republicans took the majority in January.
Wray’s trip to Capitol Hill comes just a few weeks after the president’s youngest son, Hunter Biden, reached an agreement with the Justice Department to plead guilty to misdemeanor tax offenses. Jordan and other GOP lawmakers slammed it as “a sweetheart deal” and the latest example of a “two-tiered justice system.”
As previously, Jordan accused the FBI of facilitating the suppression prior to the 2020 presidential election of online coverage of stories related to the discovery of a laptop purportedly left at a Delaware computer repair shop by President Joe Biden’s son Hunter. He also cited instances in which he said conservatives were targeted by law enforcement officials.
Republicans have held hearings with former FBI agents, Twitter executives and federal officials to make the case that the FBI has been corruptly using its powers against Trump and the right. And they've formed a special committee on “weaponization” of government, also led by Jordan, to investigate abuse.
Jordan and the leaders of the Oversight and Accountability and the Ways and Means committees quickly have opened a joint investigation into the Hunter Biden case, citing testimony from two IRS whistleblowers who say the Justice Department meddled with their work.
The Justice Department has denied the allegations and said repeatedly that U.S. Attorney David Weiss in Delaware, the federal prosecutor who led the investigation, always had full authority over the case. Weiss was appointed during the Trump administration.
Republicans have requested interviews with Weiss and other Justice Department officials, but those are not likely until after the case is closed, in line with department policy.
Wray was also likely to face questions about the charges against Trump — the man who nominated him to lead the FBI after firing James Comey in 2017. The Justice Department has accused the former president of illegally storing government secrets at his Florida estate and then refusing to give them back. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 37 felony counts.
Concerns around the FBI's continuing investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol are also top of mind for Republicans. Some say prosecutors have acted too aggressively against those accused of breaching the Capitol.
With Republican criticism of the FBI at a high pitch, some of the party's most conservative members are even pushing to cut off funding. Jordan has yet to go that far, but he is seeking to choke off funding for a new FBI headquarters.
In a letter to Rep. Kay Granger, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, Jordan wrote that the appropriation bills should eliminate any funding set aside for a planned relocation of the FBI’s headquarters from Washington to a capital suburb. Instead, he said Congress should look at moving the FBI's headquarters out of the D.C. region altogether.
“We also recommend tying funding for the FBI to specific policy changes — such as requiring the FBI to record interviews — that will promote accountability and transparency at the FBI,” Jordan wrote in the letter Tuesday.
Another focus of Wednesday's hearing was the push to reauthorize a program under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, that grants agencies like the FBI sweeping powers to surveil and examine communications of foreigners located outside the United States.
The provision of FISA known as Section 702 is set to expire at year’s end unless Congress agrees to renew it. But members of both parties are frustrated with the program, citing allegations of federal officials abusing the system.
Regardless, Democrats on the Judiciary Committee prepared a counteroffensive Wednesday to Republicans' rhetoric against the FBI, making a case that it is GOP lawmakers who are weaponizing the power of congressional oversight to appease their base and the leader of their party.
“For Republicans, this hearing is little more than performance art. It is an elaborate show designed with only two purposes in mind: to protect Donald Trump from the consequences of his actions, and to return him to the White House in the next election,” Rep. Jerry Nadler, the top Democrat on the committee, said.