Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer said Wednesday he was underwhelmed by House Republicans’ questioning of FBI director Christopher Wray, suggesting that they “dropped the ball” during a six-hour hearing filled with conspiracy theories and contentious back-and-forth exchanges.
Members of the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee have mounted a crusade in recent months to discredit Wray and the bureau over allegations of political bias.
Wray, a lifelong Republican appointed to lead the FBI in 2017 by President Donald Trump, said during the hearing that such personal attacks seem “somewhat insane” to him. At various points he also vehemently pushed back on suggestions that the FBI incited the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and covered up the COVID-19 lab leak theory, calling the allegations “ludicrous,” “ironic,” and “absurd.”
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“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,” Wray told lawmakers.
Hours later on The Story with Martha MacCallum, Hemmer said he came away from the hearing thinking that Republicans indeed “dropped the ball.”
“I mean, they finally had their man in their sights—at least one of them in Washington. And I did not think it was effective. I didn’t think the line of questioning was effective. I didn’t think their strategy was good,” he told MacCallum.
“It’s hard for me to walk away with a headline from that hearing today with Christopher Wray. That was a blown chance,” he added.
