FBI Director Wray was on the Hill this week to testify before committee regarding the assassination attempt against Donald Trump.
As part of his testimony, Wray was asked about a questionnaire that was leaked to Congress being circulated through the FBI specifically related to Trump.
Talking Points…
- The questionnaire
- Director Wray's response
- Analysis
Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI) brought up the questionnaire to Director Wray this week while he was testifying before committee. Tiffany set up Wray perfectly to drop the hammer about his ignorance of what is happening in his agency.
Tiffany asked Wray if "support for President Trump is a security concern" among FBI employees. Wray said it was not. Tiffany then asked Wray if "objection to the COVID-19 vaccine was a security threat," and Wray again against in the negative. That was when Tiffany dropped the bomb on Wray, asking:
"Who approved… what is termed as the Trump questionnaire within the FBI that was done?"
We have seen agency heads claim ignorance before about the goings on in their agency, and that seemed to be the route that Wray wanted to take here. If you recall, former FBI Director James Comey did this quite often during the Russian collusion investigation.
Wray contends that this was not a standard FBI form, which was allegedly circulated by an FBI contractor. He responded to Tiffany's question:
"So the document you're asking about is an interview outline that we only recently learned about, and in my view is completely inappropriate.
"I asked my team to get to the bottom of what happened and to ensure that it doesn't happen again. And I've learned that it's not an FBI form, that its use was isolated, that it was created not by an FBI employee, but by an outside contractor. And that individual is no longer affiliated with the FBI. "
It is hard to take Wray at face value, as this claim of ignorance is far too convenient and something we have seen repeatedly during this administration. As someone who has run significantly large departments in the business world, the buck always stops with you, and if there is something going on in your department of which you are unaware, you are not doing your job.
Nicole Parker, a former FBI agent and now a contributor for Fox News, was thinking along the same lines. She responded:
"There is a pattern of Director Wray allegedly being blindsided and out of touch with these types of incidents happening throughout the agency — the agency that he has been entrusted to lead.
"I understand that Director Wray has multiple responsibilities and cannot micromanage every detail. But why is the FBI promoting these types of individuals to key leadership roles who lack reasonable judgment? This questionnaire is abhorrent and highlights the divisive partisan politics going on at the FBI. The American taxpayers have a right to question what the FBI perceives as a quality leader."
I don't want to beat Donald Trump up too badly over this appointment, as Wray was widely endorsed throughout the GOP when Trump appointed him after the James Comey dismissal. Having said that, Wray has proven time and again that he is just another swamp rat doing whatever it takes to protect the elite in our political world, and that clearly does not include Donald Trump. If Trump wins this election, his first order of business on Day One needs to be to dismiss Wray and find someone who can flush the dangerous rogue operatives out of the agency and get the FBI back on track as one of the premiere law enforcement agencies in the world.
