Former CIA Director John Brennan accused Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee of engaging in “partisan mudslinging” during the questioning of FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday.
Director Wray appeared before the House Judiciary Committee for an oversight hearing titled “Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.” Throughout the hearing, Republican members of the committee posed challenging questions to Wray regarding various issues, including the targeting of parents protesting at school board meetings, the alleged presence of FBI sources at the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, and the handling of the August 8 raid on Mar-a-Lago.
The Republicans’ line of questioning prompted Brennan to criticize their approach, characterizing it as partisan in nature. The hearing provided an opportunity for committee members to address significant concerns and seek clarifications from Director Wray on matters pertaining to the FBI’s actions and responsibilities.
“I watched most of the hearing today with Chris Wray. He is a very, very accomplished and competent public servant. We’re very, very fortunate to have him at the helm of the FBI during a period of very stormy partisan waters he has to navigate right now,” Brennan, who served during the Obama administration, told MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace.
“He demonstrated professional patience as well as respect for the congressional oversight process, despite the mischaracterizations and all of the broadsides that he was hit with,” Brennan continued. “And the misrepresentations, which I think most concerns him, the FBI does a tremendous job every day to keep this country safe and security and to ensure that law and order is going to be maintained.”
Former Republican Gov. Chris Christie also defended Wray during a Wednesday Fox News appearance, claiming that the Republicans questioning Wray were engaged in “theater” while “trying to raise money” for their political campaigns.
Brennan was one of the dozens of former intelligence officials who signed an October 2020 letter published by Politico that claimed a bombshell New York Post report about emails from a laptop reportedly abandoned by Hunter Biden “has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.”
The Daily Caller News Foundation confirmed the authenticity of one of the emails from the laptop in October 2020. The Washington Post and New York Times confirmed the authenticity of the data in March 2022 in articles about investigations into Hunter Biden by the Department of Justice.
“That’s why when Republicans are engaged in such partisan mudslinging, which is what it is, and misrepresenting the truth, again, I’m so glad that somebody as impressive as Chris Wray, who I think has demonstrated his determination to disregard all of these personal slights he has to suffer through to ensure the FBI continues to do its work,” Brennan concluded.
FBI whistleblower Stephen Friend disputed two portions of Wray’s testimony at Wednesday’s hearing, saying the director misstated the truth on whether agents were diverted from child sexual exploitation cases and whether parents protesting at school board meetings were investigated for terrorism.
