FBI Oversight Hearing: Little more than Partisan Grandstanding

Last night I watched the entirety of the Congressional FBI Oversight Committee and I have to say it has left me rather disappointed and disenchanted with the state of politics and priorities in the United States. I quickly realized that what I expected, a thoughtful probing of FBI procedures and practices, was not the focal point of the hearing. No, instead what I sat through, for 5 hours, and took 10 pages of notes on was a back and forth of political grandstanding by the various representatives present. The few moments that were not spent pontificating or throwing veiled insults were spent on one of a few political issues that had little to do with FBI practices and procedures. In fact there were only 2 points that were addressed in the entire session that seemed to have any merit, discussion on domestic violent extremism and the fentanyl crisis. So, with the farcical nature of this hearing in mind, what can we really learn and take away from it?

In my estimation, the most prominent takeaways from the hearing revolve around the conduct of FBI Director Wray, Rep Jim Jordan of Ohio, Rep Matt Gaetz of Florida, and the overall content and tone of the hearing. I found it rather impressive that FBI Director Wray remained as polite and willing to answer questions in the face of what could be described generously as inflammatory questioning and, critically, as violent scapegoating for political purposes. His opening statements were very professional and clear in which he stated that the FBI was a non-partisan body and that their work was solely to protect the American people and uphold the constitution before highlighting some of the good work done by their offices, including the busting of a drug trafficking operation in Ohio that seized enough fentanyl to kill the populations of Ohio’s 3 largest cities combined. After he concluded his statements it quickly became clear that the level of professionalism was about to decline.

Representatives present were given a 5 minute window in which to ask the FBI director questions. In most cases this rarely extended beyond one or two questions, some not asking any questions at all, as they took most of their time to throw accusations and thinly veiled insults or otherwise grandstand on their own political ideals. For the Democratic reps this mostly included statements that their Republican colleagues were a pack of conspiracy theorists on a witch hunt, with one representative from Georgia opening his time by stating “MAGA Republicans will do anything to support trump” and welcoming the FBI director to “the legislative arm of the Trump 2024 reelection campaign.” Meanwhile, the Republican reps would often spend their time directly accusing the FBI director and the FBI as a whole for protecting the Biden administration and failing to act on threats, unless it was about the raid on Mar-a-Lago, in which case they overstepped their bounds. The highlights of the latter being Rep Matt Gaetz of Florida and the Chairman of the hearing, Rep Jim Jordan of Ohio, both of whom spent most of their time asking obtuse questions or simply laying out accusations without questions that could be responded to by Director Wray.

Rep Gaetz outright asked and alleged that the FBI was protecting the Bidens and Director Wray, in what may be the only even partial loss of composure throughout, vehemently denied by stating, “Absolutely not! The FBI does not, and has no interest in protecting anyone politically.” Director Wray’s response had to be spoken over Rep Gaetz, who began to loudly interrupt the instant the words “Absolutely Not,” stating that Director Wray was not answering the question and that was something “deeply revealing” about him. It was instantly clear the Rep Gaetz was more intent on a personal indictment of the Director and his conduct than he was about genuine oversight. However, Rep Gaetz did at least respect the time, if not the Director to whom he finished with by stating that in regard to FBI applicants from Florida that they “deserve better than you.”

On the other hand, someone who showed no respect for time was, surprisingly, the Chairman of the committee, Rep Jim Jordan of Ohio. Rep Jordan broke decorum on at least 5 occasions throughout the hearing by taking time between Representatives’ windows to lay out comments and insults on the FBI. Comments that were periodically interrupted by other members stating “point of order",” as a means to remind the Chairman to give the time to the next person in line. In one occasion Rep Jordan went on a multi-minute tangent about a single email between an unnamed FBI rep and employees of Bank of America regarding transaction information and became flustered and irritated when Director Wray stated he could not comment because they only saw the one email instead of a whole chain, and thus could not provide context. After which point another rep was granted a point of order to state simply to the Chairman that “it isn’t your time.”

Really, the only true positive emotion I felt through this hearing was in regard to the conduct of FBI Director Wray, who was subjected to some very vilifying lines of questioning. I found it astoundingly impressive that he held his composure so well despite questions he felt were downright misinformed, calmly responding to such things with statements such as “I think you may not be correctly categorizing the information [or assertions/beliefs] of…” Most notably I enjoyed his comments regarding the leadership of the FBI and how he made it a point that the entire leadership team below him is comprised of career law enforcement professionals and “not a single political appointee.” Which represented one of only a few instances in which he bit back against the clear partisan nature of the hearing. If you have any curiosity on who is running the FBI it may be worth a watch just to see how he handles himself.

So, what is there to really learn or take away from this whole hearing? For me the most obvious thing is the clear fanatacism by some Republican representatives that seems to muddle and overtake reason as well as a total inability of many other Democratic representatives to get along with, respect, or hear their colleagues from across the aisle. There were multiple instances of Democratic candidates claiming hypocrisy of Rep Jordan because he is currently over 400 days in violation of his own subpoena to appear before a bipartisan investigation on Jan 6, which struck me as disturbing that he could maintain his position as Chairman or even his office as a public servant if that were true. Overall the hearing was a farce, I don’t believe there was little, if any, oversight performed and most viewers could watch the entire hearing and really learn very little about what the FBI does aside from the handful of statements regarding drug trafficking and domestic terrorism. For the sake of total coverage I’ve included below a summarized list of my notes and a link to the C-Span video of the entire hearing, which you can watch if you find the time.

FBI Oversight Hearing by C-Span

My summarized notes are below and they are in order of appearance so if you need a guide for your own viewing and want to skip ahead just look for these names as you go:

-Director Wray made an opening statement expressing his pride and humility in leading the FBI. He highlighted the recent arrest of drug traffickers in Marion, OH, where a significant amount of fentanyl was seized.

-He emphasized that the FBI leadership was non-partisan, experienced, and represented the best of the best. He stated that the leaders under him had no political appointees and had started their careers at the lowest level.

-Louisiana Republican Mike Johnson expressed concerns about the FBI being used as a political tool of the Biden administration and questioned the coercion of social media by the FBI.

-New York Democrat Jerrold Nadler asked about a raid on the Trump estate in Mar-a-Lago, but Director Wray declined to answer due to ongoing trials and legal proceedings.

-Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie asked about the FBI's response to a letter regarding pipe bombs at the DNC, but Director Wray stated he could not comment on ongoing investigations.

-Democrat Zoe Lofgren criticized Republicans for throwing conspiracy theories at the FBI without evidence and expressed concerns about the FBI's handling of the Trump administration.

-Matt Gaetz, a Republican from Florida, asked leading questions about protecting the Bidens and illegal queries made by the FBI. Director Wray stated he did not have the current estimations but affirmed that the FBI does not engage in shakedowns.

-Democrat Steve Cohen thanked Director Wray for his service and asked about an attack on an FBI field office. Wray described it as part of a growing phenomenon of anti-law enforcement sentiment.

-Republican Darrell Issa asked about the involvement of FBI employees or contacts in the January 6 events, but Wray stated that he could not comment due to ongoing investigations.

-Democrat Hank Johnson accused Republicans of attempting to shakedown the FBI and dismantle it. Wray warned that such actions would be devastating for law enforcement professionals and benefit criminals.

-Republican Ken Buck expressed concerns about FISA abuse and asked about protecting civil liberties. Director Wray cited reforms and progress in compliance to address those concerns.

-Democrat Adam Schiff defended Director Wray against attacks and vilification.

-Republican Jim Jordan questioned the difference between traditional Catholics and radical traditional Catholics, and raised concerns about a document produced by an FBI office. Director Wray stated it was an isolated incident and an internal review was ongoing.

-Democrat Eric Swalwell criticized Jordan for violating a lawful subpoena and described the hearing as madness.

-Republican Andy Biggs asked about the involvement of undercover FBI agents at the January 6 events, but Wray stated he was not aware of any undercover agents and could not comment on ongoing investigations.

-Democrat Ted Lieu thanked Director Wray for his service and asked about convictions of former public servants. He also asked about the effect of defunding the FBI, to which Wray stated it would be devastating to law enforcement professionals and benefit criminals.

-Republican Ben Cline questioned the basis for launching Crossfire Hurricane and asked about FISA compliance. Wray acknowledged violations and expressed the need for improvements.

-Democrat Mary Gay Scanlon asked about the FBI's efforts to address fentanyl and domestic extremist violence. Director Wray highlighted the seizure of fentanyl in gang takedowns and its adulteration in prescription drugs.

-Republican Tom Tiffany questioned the security of the southern border and asked about the Russia collusion investigation. Wray acknowledged Russia's attempts to interfere in elections but emphasized that the FBI would not interfere in elections.