Democrats sparred with Republicans leading the House Judiciary Committee's hearing Wednesday, with much of the ire targeted at Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and his claims about Hunter Biden and the alleged "weaponization" of the government.
In his opening remarks, Jordan took aim at FBI Director Christopher Wray over the July 4 ruling on alleged suppression of free speech by the bureau, quoting a Trump-appointed judge's statement that "the United States government seems to have assumed a role similar to an Orwellian Ministry of Truth," and further admonishing the FBI for trying to discredit reports about Hunter Biden's laptop.
"When the court says the FBI misled, that's a nice way of saying they lied. They lied, and as a result, important information was kept from 'we the people,' days before the most important election we have. The election of the President of the United States, election of the commander-in-chief," Jordan said.
"American speech is censored, parents are called terrorists, Catholics are called radicals, and I haven't even talked about the spying that took place on a presidential campaign or the raiding of a former president's home," he added.
Jordan teed up his line of attack during an appearance on Fox News Wednesday morning, according to Mediaite.
"Well, this all happened under his watch. He's the guy who created the foreign influence task force. The foreign influence task force was cited in the federal courts of opinion involved in censoring American speech," Jordan began when host Bill Hemmer asked if he thought Wray was the root of his problems with the bureau and noted that Wray is a Trump appointee.
"So, this is the guy who presided over when they raided President Trump's home 91 days before a mid-term election. This is the guy who was presiding over the FBI when the Richmond field office put together this memorandum saying they were looking to put sources inside parishes, inside the Catholic Church to snitch on parishioners. You've got to be kidding me. So this all happened under his watch," Jordan continued. "So I don't think it matters who appointed him or not. What we want to know is we want to know about all those things that have taken place, and we want them to stop, and we want him to give Congress the answers."
Jordan, a key ally of former President Donald Trump, proposed that Congress stop funding Justice Department investigations into political figures on the grounds that "politically sensitive" cases should fall under the jurisdiction of "non-partisan career staff." The claim is a direct rebuttal to the FBI's probe of Trump's Russia dealings and Hunter Biden's recent plea deal, which staunch conservatives, including Jordan, deemed evidence of a "two-tier justice system."
Wray defended the bureau against Jordan's claims, saying that the work "the men and women of the FBI do to protect the American people goes way beyond the one or two investigations that seem to capture all the headlines."
Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., during the hearing slammed Jordan for what he suggested was his ultra-focus on Hunter Biden's laptop
"Chairman, I've counted in this hearing — and we're only about an hour and a half in — the use of the word laptop about 20 times. That is bananas to me. You all are bringing up FISA, every single question," Swalwell told Jordan during Wednesday's hearing, referring to Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
"You're essentially saying to the American people that you're guardians of personal security and privacy, but the 2020 election was determined because the FBI didn't let more Americans see a private citizen's nonconsensual nudes?" Swalwell continued, referencing conservatives' outcry when Twitter removed naked images of the president's son.
Jordan asked Swalwell to yield for a comment, but he refused.
"Like, you should be a party of ideas, not a party of nonconsensual nudes to help you win an election," the Democratic lawmaker continued. "We should be talking about the mass shootings that occurred over the last ten days. This hearing has turned into absolute chaos."
Rep. Swalwell (D-CA) hits GOP for asking FBI Dir. Wray about Hunter Biden’s laptop:
— The Recount (@therecount) July 12, 2023
“You’re essentially saying…you’re guardians of personal security and privacy, but 2020 election was determined because FBI didn’t let more Americans see a private citizen's nonconsensual nudes?” pic.twitter.com/tuGRwCEGV5
The Trump-appointed FBI director also took the chance to fire back at Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., after the Trump ally assailed the bureau's reputation during the hearing. After failing to get Wray to comment on potentially incriminating messages Hunter Biden sent years ago, Gaetz then launched an attack against the director's leadership abilities at the agency.
"You preside over the FBI, it has the lowest level of trust in the FBI's history," Gaetz argued. "People trusted the FBI more when J. Edgar Hoover was running the place... the reason is because you don't give straight answers."
Wray quickly retorted by informing Gaetz about the volume of Americans — Floridians in particular — who apply for positions with the bureau.
"Respectfully, congressman, in your home state of Florida, the number of people applying to come work for us, to devote their lives working for us, is up over 100 percent," Wray said.
"We're deeply proud of them!" Gaetz replied. "But they deserve better than you!"
Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., on Wednesday also came after Jordan, quickly shooting down Jordan's allegation that the FBI is "weaponized" against conservatives. He accused the Ohio Republican of attacking the agency to cape for Trump, who was indicted last month over his retention of national security documents after leaving office.
"Today, House Republicans will attack the FBI for having had the audacity to treat Donald Trump like any other citizen," Nadler said. "The FBI dared to hold Trump accountable, so Republicans must discredit the FBI at all costs. You will hear claims today that the FBI's decision to investigate Donald Trump was somehow unfair. You will hear Republicans attack the indictment of former President Trump on 37 counts related to his gross mishandling of national security information, including information regarding defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries, United States nuclear programs, potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies of military attack, and plans to possible retaliation in response to foreign attack."
Nadler also homed in on and mocked the suggestion that an FBI headed by a Trump-appointed director was a leftist group conspiring to take down conservatives.
"You will hear the case that this was a political investigation from the start, orchestrated by a liberal-loving FBI, that would ensure Trump would be wrongfully vilified at every turn," Nadler said. "These claims, of course, are completely untethered from evidence. Even if you believe, as Chairman Jordan claims, that President Trump has committed no crime, surely we can agree that it is dangerous, and profoundly irresponsible, to have taken these documents from the White House and left them unsecured in Mar-a-Lago."
