FBI's Wray spars with House GOP, says it's 'insane' to suggest he's anti-conservative

FBI Director Christopher Wray testified before the House Judiciary Committee for nearly six hours on Wednesday, frequently fending off attacks and rebutting conspiracy theories from Republican critics who accused the FBI of being "weaponized" against conservatives. Wray, a registered Republican appointed by former President Donald Trump in 2017, said at one point "the idea that I'm biased against conservatives seems somewhat insane to me, given my own personal background."

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Democrats largely defended the FBI during the hearing and accused their Republican colleagues, especially committee chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (Ohio), of attacking federal law enforcement as a way to protect Trump and his 2024 presidential campaign. The top Democrat on the committee, Rep. Jarrold Nadler (N.Y.), called the hearing "little more than performance art." Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) said it's "actually sad" that Republicans are "engaging conspiracy theories in an effort to discredit one of the premier law enforcement agencies in the United States."

Democrats and Republicans did find common ground in criticizing the FBI's use of a warrantless surveillance program called Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Some said they will vote against reauthorization when the program expires at the end of the year. Wray said that would severely curtail the FBI's ability to avert foreign terrorism.

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Wray tried to steer the hearing toward the business of fighting crime and malign foreign interference he said the "real FBI" engages in every day, not the "one or two investigations that seem to capture all the headlines." He declined to discuss most ongoing investigations, including ones involving Trump and President Biden's son Hunter, though he did obliquely criticize Trump's storage of top secret files, agreeing that "ballrooms, bathrooms and bedrooms" are not appropriate places to store classified documents.

When Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) accused him of "protecting the Bidens," Wray shot back, "Absolutely not. The FBI has no interest in protecting anyone politically." He also used the words "absurd," "ludicrous," and "ironic" to "describe theories promoted by Wray's fellow Republicans," The Washington Post's Aaron Blake noted.

At one point, Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) tried to lighten the mood a bit. "According to Wikipedia, you're still a registered Republican," he said, "and I hope you don't change your party affiliation after this hearing is over."