WASHINGTON — FBI Director Christopher Wray is expected to face a barrage of critical questions from Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday amid GOP claims that federal law enforcement agencies have been “armed” against conservatives, including former President Donald Trump and his allies.
Wray is set to testify at 10 am ET at a hearing on congressional oversight of the FBI. The director, who has led the office since August 2017, is expected to champion the work of his employees and promote progress in the fight against violent crime, the seizure of dangerous drugs such as fentanyl and the Chinese government investigation.
“I want to talk about the breadth and impact of the work that the 38,000 FBI employees are doing, every day,” he will say, according to prepared remarks. “Because the work that the men and women of the FBI do to protect the American people goes far beyond the one or two investigations that seem to capture all the headlines.”
Last year, the FBI arrested more than 20,000 violent criminals and child predators, Wray will tell lawmakers, which he says is “an average of nearly 60 bad guys taken off the streets a day, every day.”
Wray will say the FBI is conducting more than 300 investigations into drug cartel leadership and has already “seized hundreds of kilograms of fentanyl this year alone.” The office also has thousands of active investigations into efforts by the Chinese government to “steal our most precious secrets, rob our companies of their ideas and innovation, and stifle free speech right here in the United States.”
“And that’s just scratching the surface; the men and women of the FBI work tirelessly every day to protect the American people from a staggering array of threats,” she will say.
A source familiar with the matter previously told NBC News that “everything is on the table” for discussion at the hearing.
Jordan has criticized the FBI and Wray on numerous issues, including a federal investigation into Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, who is expected to plead guilty to two misdemeanor charges for failing to pay taxes. The president’s son also faces a gun possession charge for another felony that will likely be dismissed if he meets certain conditions.
Earlier this year, Jordan subpoenaed Wray for documents after the GOP chairman said a withdrawn memo had focused on the FBI exploring possible domestic violent extremism in Catholic churches. He also subpoenaed Wray and other members of the Biden administration to obtain documents related to local school board meetings amid claims that FBI divisions had focused on potential threats at such meetings.
The oversight hearing comes as special counsel Jack Smith pursues an indictment against former President Donald Trump for his alleged mishandling of classified documents and an investigation of the former president into his role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol and efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Wray’s appearance also comes after House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., threatened to start proceedings to charge the FBI director with contempt of Congress.
Those proceedings fell through after the FBI agreed to let Republicans see a document that allegedly outlined an unverified allegation that Joe Biden was involved in a bribery scheme while vice president involving a foreign national. The FBI and a federal prosecutor reviewed the allegation when it was made in 2020, NBC News previously reported. The bribery allegation was not substantiated, a senior law enforcement official said recently.
