FBI Director Christopher Wray was confronted by facts about his agency’s “dual system” of justice in an interview with Fox News anchor Bret Baier where the host called out the blatant disparity in classified document investigations of former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden: “How do you explain that?”
(Video: Fox News)
Sitting down face-to-face for Tuesday’s edition of “Special Report,” Wray was confronted with some of the most serious accusations leveled against the FBI that included their targeting of parents as domestic terrorists, the excessive measures used to arrest a pro-life supporter while abortion activists’ alleged violent extremism appeared to go unchecked and the apparent suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story.
Of particular note was how the director responded when challenged on the Mar-a-Lago raid compared to the search of Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware.
“Let’s talk about the dual system that conservatives point to, the documents investigation for former President Trump and the raid that happens in Mar-a-Lago. That show of force in that way, as opposed to the documents investigation for President Biden and how that went down.”
“You find out about those documents before the November election,” Baier reminded. “The FBI then does the search of the house after that, but does not say anything prior to the midterm election. So those two things are — stick in people’s minds as different — handled differently. How do you explain that?”
“So we have a long history of handling investigations into the mishandling of classified information,” Wray began as he claimed, “And our standard for approaching those investigations is the same no matter who it is. Our basic approach is the same. Now that approach means that we typically start with the least intrusive means to try to retrieve the improperly stored classified information. But if those less intrusive means don’t work, and certainly if they’re frustrated in some way, then we adapt and turn to other legal tools that we’ve been entrusted with.”
Pressing to find the extent of the director’s involvement in how the Mar-a-Lago raid was conducted, Baier then asked, “Are you at the table for that decision of how it looks to go after a former president like the way that it happened in Mar-a-Lago?”
“Well, I oversee the FBI,” he replied, seemingly about to take responsibility. However, Wray decided instead to wax about expectations as he skirted the edges of culpability. “I expect any significant investigation to be conducted by the book. And I do that with adherence to our rules, our policies, our practices.”
Trying a different tact, the Fox News host turned his sight on what would seem like a straightforward question by asking why it was months before the public knew Biden’s records were being searched for classified documents compared to the Mar-a-Lago raid which was reported on as it was conducted.
“Why didn’t we know anything about the FBI looking into President Biden prior to the election?” Baier asked.
It was then Wray used the favored ‘out’ of Justice Department officials when boxed into a corner.
“Well, again, I can’t talk about specific investigations that are ongoing, both of which are being led by special counsel, other than to say it is not our normal practice to discuss publicly specific investigations,” he said.
Despite his claims to the contrary, the facts have continued to show the FBI’s selective process in administering justice. As previously reported, following outrage at the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, pro-life organizations across the country were subject to violent attacks with no arrests made.
FBI nets ZERO arrests after at least 16 Jane’s Revenge attacks on pro-life organizations https://t.co/KV2LkiCiSW
— American Wire News (@americanwire_) September 14, 2022
Meanwhile, while claiming “We are not on either side,” Wray was confronted by how pro-life activist Mark Houck was arrested at his home in 2022 at gunpoint by roughly 30 FBI agents in front of his seven children for an alleged violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. The arrest followed a reported altercation between Houck and an abortion proponent whom the father was said to have shoved, a case that had already been dismissed by local courts.
“I understand that people have their opinions,” Wray argued. “All I can tell you is that we have one standard, one standard which is irrespective of ideology, of politics. In this country it doesn’t matter what you are upset about or who you are upset with, you don’t get to express that upset with violence and so we are agnostic as to ideology.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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