House Republicans unleashed on FBI Director Christopher Wray about the bureau’s lackluster response to the damning problems uncovered in the DOJ Inspector General’s report on FISA abuses, according to the Washington Times.
At a House Judiciary Committee hearing yesterday, Wray claims he went “above and beyond” to provide accountability and made more than 40 changes to the bureau’s FISA policies and practices.
“The failures highlighted in that report are unacceptable — period,” he said. “They don’t reflect who the FBI is as an institution and they cannot be repeated.”
“I do not think anyone has carte blanche to bypass rules, and I intend to make it painfully clear that is unacceptable at the FBI today,” he continued.
Congressman Tom McClintock said to Wray, “You used the word ‘unacceptable.’ I would think you would find a stronger word for what has happened by the actions of people who sullied the reputations of every decent person at the FBI and disgraced the agency you now head.
He continued, “I’m terribly disappointed you can’t summon the outrage to put it in stronger words than ‘this is unacceptable and doesn’t represent the FBI,” he said. “Unfortunately at the moment, it does represent the FBI or at least the leadership of the FBI. You were appointed to clean things up.”
Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan (R) ripped Wray for his response letter to the IG report where the Director simply called its findings and recommendations “constructive criticism.”
“I appreciate your comments about Mr. Horowitz’s report saying it was unacceptable, but I’m concerned because it didn’t seem to me that you had quite the same outrage in your response letter to Inspector General Horowitz,” said Jordan.
He continued, “And when all that’s pointed out to you in a 400-page report, you say, ‘Thanks for the constructive criticism. A 400-page report that said there were 51 assertions that the top people at the FBI made to the court that weren’t backed up, that weren’t supported at all, and it’s called ‘constructive criticism’?”
“I’m concerned you’re not taking this seriously enough,” Jordan said. “Are you taking it serious enough, Director Wray?”
The IG report was released on Dec. 9 and identified 17 “significant inaccuracies or omissions” in applications for FISA warrants for former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. Those inaccuracies resulted in “applications that made it appear that the information supporting probable cause was stronger than was actually the case.”
