GOP Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Mike Johnson of Louisiana, with the House Judiciary Committee, have just announced their next move after FBI Director Christopher Wray’s testimony last week.
OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
In a Twitter post, Johnson wrote, “[Jim Jordan] & I will send Chris Wray a letter this week to give him a chance to correct the contradictions in his testimony to Congress. Either he was being untruthful or he is unaware of the egregious & unconstitutional activities of his agency. Either scenario is alarming.”
.@Jim_Jordan & I will send Chris Wray a letter this week to give him a chance to correct the contradictions in his testimony to Congress.
Either he was being untruthful or he is unaware of the egregious & unconstitutional activities of his agency.
Either scenario is alarming. pic.twitter.com/LIurZ6WMUg
— Rep. Mike Johnson (@RepMikeJohnson) July 17, 2023
In an interview with Fox News host and former South Carolina Republican congressman Trey Gowdy, Johnson remarked that there were “two things [to get the attention of the FBI- Jim Jordan and I are preparing a letter that we will issue probably Monday or Tuesday to ask the director to correct his testimony.
“We are going to point out the contradictions in what he said under oath and we will start with that. Secondly…the appropriations process is a very important part of this. We have to get their attention,” he said.
“They want a $4 billion new headquarters for the FBI, I have been on the record many times saying I don’t believe they deserve that if they cannot uphold the most fundamental constitutional rights of the people that they are supposed to be protecting and serving. We have to get their attention, we can’t impeach every agency head in the Biden administration,” Johnson continued.
He added that “a lot of them probably deserve it [impeachment], but we have to start with the power that we have and…in the House, the power of the purse is a big one.”
Another member of the House Judiciary Committee expressed concerns regarding the decline of the rule of law in the United States, specifically pointed out instances of federal law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI, allegedly abusing their power and engaging in misconduct.
“We are a nation of laws. We are not some Orwellian dystopia where these things are appropriate or allowed, but we’ve allowed this to happen. Yesterday’s [committee] hearing with [Law Professor Jonathan Turley] unpacked how Congress can reform FISA and stop this abusive federal overreach,” Rep. Russell Fry (R-S.C.), noted.
Last month, Jordan sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland demanding answers to a list of questions about the FBI’s involvement.
It was the FBI, of course, that conspired with Democrats during the 2016 election to fabricate the “Russiagate” collusion conspiracy theory against Trump and pursue it as if there was any evidence. Special Counsel John Durham’s years-long investigation concluded there wasn’t.
That, among other things, has left “public trust in the FBI … low,” Jordan explained.
So his letter, warning of “the institutional rot that pervades the FBI,” demanded to know about FBI agents working on special counsel Jack Smith’s case, which is to investigate the 2020 election circumstances, the events at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, even presidential documents found at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago.
“The extent of the FBI’s bias and reckless disregard for the truth, which Special Counsel Durham laid out in painstaking detail, is nothing short of scandalous. The FBI has tried to dismiss the report’s findings by claiming to have ‘already implemented dozens of corrective actions’ to prevent similar misconduct in the future,” Jordan charged.
“The FBI’s window dressing is not enough. The special counsel’s report serves as a stark reminder of the need for more accountability and reforms within the FBI,” he said.