FBI Director Christopher Wray fielded hours of “absurd” questions on Wednesday from the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee, as the party continues to ramp up its attempts to discredit both Wray and the agency that he runs with claims of political bias against conservatives.
Ironically, as he pointed out repeatedly during the six-hour hearing Wednesday, Wray is a lifelong Republican and member of the right-wing Federalist Society. He was also appointed to his post in 2017 by then-president Donald Trump.
“I hope you don’t change your party affiliation after this hearing is over,” Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) joked at one point.
ADVERTISEMENT
Despite his sterling conservative resume, Wray was forced to defend himself from charges of bias from members of his own party, many of whom alleged that the FBI was unfairly targeting the right in its recent investigations and prosecutions.
Wray used a variety of adjectives to describe recent right-wing conspiracies lobbed at the FBI—including that the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was an inside job masterminded by the agency—calling Republican attacks on his character “insane,” “absurd,” “ironic” and “ludicrous.”
“The idea that I’m biased against conservatives seems somewhat insane to me, given my own personal background,” he told the committee.
None of the director’s fiery language stopped Republicans on the committee from questioning Wray about Jan. 6, entertaining a years-old conspiracy theory that the FBI helped incite the riot.
It was a claim championed by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who was sued alongside the network earlier Wednesday by Ray Epps, a Capitol rioter who was falsely smeared by right-wing media and accused of being an FBI informant despite little evidence.
Wray tried his best not to feed into the narrative.
“I will say this notion that somehow the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6 was part of some operation by FBI sources and agents is ludicrous and is a disservice to our brave, hard-working, dedicated men and women,” he said.
Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) even brought up the COVID-19 lab-leak theory, insinuating that Wray’s FBI was helping the broader U.S. government cover it up. Wray called the claim “ironic” and “somewhat absurd,” considering the FBI was, at one point, “the only agency in the entire intelligence community” to give credit to the lab leak theory.
Wray largely avoided getting too heated with even his biggest critics Wednesday, keeping a steady demeanor throughout a number of contentious lines of questioning. Near the end of the hearing, he subtly warned those on the committee who may hope to see him bend amid the political gamesmanship.
“No one should ever mistake my demeanor for what my spine is made out of,” he said.
